Surrender for a While
by lanajie20
Summary: Post Graduation. My take on what happens between Finn and Rachel after Finn sends her to New York. Mainly in the summer for now but may also carry on into the Fall.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Fanfic and after reading all the other great ones I decided to try my hand at it. Hope you all like it! I'd love to hear your feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the character's mentioned. I'm just a huge Glee Fan!**

Rachel awoke gasping for air. She knew it was just a nightmare but it seemed so real. She walked into her hotel bathroom deciding she needed a drink of water before she could calm down. Anytime she would get upset, she would always be thirsty. This was one of those moments. As she wiped her bangs from her forehead, she saw her engagement ring glimmer in the light. Before she could stop herself, she began sobbing. She should not be sitting in a hotel room bathroom with her dads looking at dorms for NYADA; she should be in Niagara Falls on her Honeymoon! She should no longer be Rachel Berry; she should be Mrs. Finn Hudson! She still could not believe that her perfect world had come crashing down on her when Finn had taken her to catch the 4:25 train to New York.

When she finally stopped crying, she decided she needed to get some sleep before she went out in the morning to begin planning her new future. The alarm clock on the bed stand read 3:18 a.m. She checked her phone knowing there wouldn't be a text since all her friends were out celebrating their graduation. _I should be with them not here in New York!_ she thought to herself. The wall paper on her phone was a picture of her and Finn that had been taken right after they graduated. She could feel the tears coming, but she could not make herself look away from his face. As she began to fade in and out of consciousness, she whispered into the darkness, "I love you so much Finn. You are my everything. Without you, I am lost."

* * *

Finn sat in a corner staring off into space. Everyone was partying and enjoying themselves and yet he was completely miserable. He kept checking his phone even though he knew it was no use. He hadn't told her to text him when she got to New York and he was probably the last person she wanted to talk to but he felt completely empty without her sitting next to him. He was so absorbed in his own world that he didn't even notice someone had come up and was sitting next to him until he felt them touch his shoulder. He quickly wiped away tears and looked to see Santana Lopez sitting next to him. She put her arm over his shoulder and he couldn't help it, he finally broke down and cried while she held him. Once the crying stopped, she spoke softly which was not usual for her,

"Finn, I owe you so much because you helped me make it through everyone finding out about Britt and I. I decided not to go to that school for Cheerleading. I want to go to New York and…"

At the mention of New York, he felt his heart start to break even more. Santana didn't seem to notice and continued on,

"I'll go live with Rach and keep an eye on her for you. Pretty sure no one would dare hurt her with Snixx and I watching out for her. I'll call her tomorrow and tell her the news if you think it's a good idea."

Finn had to laugh a bit. Snixx was Santana's supposed split personality that came out whenever she was angry. He had experienced the wrath of Snixx a few times and knew no one wanted to mess with it. He knew Santana and Rachel had not always gotten along but then this way the big city wouldn't be so lonely for either of them. He nodded his head and whispered, "Thank-you Santana. I wish so badly it was me, but I know you will keep her safe for me while I'm away."

Santana smiled and gave him a quick hug before returning to the dance floor with Brittney. Finn sat alone for the rest of the night before Kurt finally came to rescue him from his misery.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Here's the next chapter. Hopefully you all enjoy it!_  
**

**_Again I don't own Glee or any of the characters_**

* * *

**Hey Rach! So listen I need you to call me ASAP like now if you are awake because I have something very important to tell you! –Santana**

Rachel quickly picked up her phone to call Santana. She was suddenly all sorts of panicking. _What if something had happened to Finn_, she thought. Once she heard Santana's calm voice on the phone she began to calm down.

"Hey Rach! So how's the big city treatin' ya?"

"It's alright. I've only been here for a few hours so I can't really say. It was much better when we were all here last year for Nationals." A slight knot formed in her stomach at the mentioning of that day. It had been then that Finn had told her he loved her and even wrote a song for them to sing. The "Superman of Kisses" had happened then and now look where she was at.

"Well listen, I don't know if anyone told you but I decided to give up my cheerleading scholarship and I'm thinking about coming to New York. So what do you think about us maybe getting an apartment together and becoming roommates?"

Rachel could hardly believe what she was hearing. She had been so upset when Kurt had decided to stay in Lima after not being accepted to NYADA and even more heartbroken when Finn had "set her free" as he called it. With Santana here, it might not be so bad after all. "I would love that! Do you want me to pick the apartment or what? I mean I don't know what your plans are so I don't really know a good location that would be in between and all but…"

"Whoa Berry calm down! I was actually thinking about catching the train this morning and coming to have a look around. Would you and your dads be able to pick me up at the train station this afternoon?"

"Of course just let me know when you will be in! Is Britt coming with you?"

"No she said something about not being able to leave Lord Tubington alone for fear he'll start smoking again. I may bring someone with me though so I don't have to make the trip alone but it may just be me I'm not sure yet. Thanks so much Rach! I better go finish packing. I'll text ya when I leave here."

Rachel could hardly believe it. Santana was coming to New York; she wouldn't be completely alone now! She was on her way to tell her dads the good news when her phone vibrated. This time it was a message from Kurt:  
**Rachel dear, I know Finn is probably the last person you want to talk to right now but I have never seen him so upset. Will you just text him and tell him to have a good day or call him so he can hear your voice or something. He won't get out of bed; he just keeps staring at your prom picture. Normally I wouldn't ask you to do this but Blaine and I don't know what to do for him. Hope New York is as amazing as you are! –XO Kurt**

As much as she was struggling with the separation, she couldn't imagine how much Finn was. She ran to tell her dads the good news about Santana and then decided to call Finn. It rang a few times before she heard his voice and she got those butterflies she had anytime she heard his voice.

"Hi Rach. How's New York? Did you find an apartment? Did…"

"Finn, I didn't call to talk about my trip to New York. I called to see how you were and find out how the party went last night. Anything interesting happen?"

He knew that wasn't the reason she called but just hearing her voice made him so much happier than he had been 5 minutes ago. They talked for a while before she told him about Santana's call and how excited she was. He knew that Kurt was going with Santana to New York. He wished so badly that it could be him making the trip but he knew that would make the separation so much harder on Rachel. He panicked when he heard a pause in the conversation, but realized she was just talking to her dad in the background. When she got back on the phone, he knew their time was being cut.

"Hey Finn, I have to go. My dads have planned a lunch trip and it can't be stalled any longer. I promise I'll text you when Santana gets here and you can call me later tonight, okay?"

He didn't want to let her go but he knew that he had to; after all it had been his idea to set her free in the first place. "Yeah Rach that sounds great! Have fun at lunch. I'll talk to you later babe. I love you." He wanted to kick himself for that last sentence when he heard nothing in response.

"I love you too Finn, with all my heart! Have a great day! Bye."

With that she was gone. He held on to her last comment and knew he had to get up and get ready for work at the tire shop. Kurt came in his room to tell him he was getting ready to leave and ask if there was anything he wanted given to Rachel. Finn handed him the letter he'd written the night before and told him not to give it to her until he thought she was ready for it. Kurt took the letter and hugged his step-brother. He hated seeing his two closest friends hurting so much but he knew it was for the best right now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the feedback! I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Sorry some of them are short!**

**Again I don't own Glee or any of the Characters!**

Rachel was so excited she could barely contain it. Santana had texted and said they were almost there and she was bringing someone special with her. When Rachel got to the train station with her dads, she kept looking around for her Latina friend. She didn't know what outfit to look for since Santana had spent most of her time wearing her red and white Cheerios uniform. As she began to walk back towards the bench, she heard someone calling her name except it wasn't Santana's voice.

"Rachel Barbra Berry! Don't you dare walk away from me!"

Rachel spun around to see a very well dressed man running full speed towards her. She barely had time to put her arms out before Kurt came crashing into her taking her in a huge hug. Through her tears, she saw Santana walking towards them with her Queen Bee smirk.

"Surprise! You honestly didn't think that Kurt would let you come to New York by yourself did ya?" Santana seemed quite proud of herself for coming up with this great plan even though she knew that Kurt would never have let her leave Lima without him.

Rachel looked at Kurt and could hardly believe what she was seeing. While she was so happy that her best gay was with her she didn't know what he would be doing in New York. He hadn't got into NYADA like the original plan had been. He could see her confusion and laughed.

"Rach I rethought my plan and I decided that yes I want to eventually get into NYADA but I think that I am going to try to take some fashion classes either at NYU or some online classes. And who knows, maybe fashion is more my thing anyways."

Rachel couldn't help but cry. They weren't sad tears like she had been crying since about 4:00 the day before but happy tears because she knew that she finally was no longer alone in such a big city. Things were finally beginning to look up for Ms. Rachel Berry.

* * *

Rachel, Santana, and Kurt all fell onto the hotel bed completely exhausted. They had scoured the city and finally found the perfect three room apartment that was close in location for all three of them. It was right in their price range which made the situation even better. Rachel felt happier than she had all day. She noticed Kurt studying her, but she just figured that was because he was her best friend and no matter how much she smiled and laughed, there would be no masking the pain from him. Santana left the room to go call Britt, leaving the two besties with a chance to finally talk.

"So Rach, how are you really holding up? Your eyes are doing a horrible job of hiding how you really feel."

"I just don't understand Kurt. I can't believe that he is going to join the army and that he really thinks that I am better without him! After all we've been through can't he see I'm not!" With that, she broke down. She had been holding it in all day. She soon felt Kurt's hand rubbing circles on her back while he tried to comfort her. While it did make her feel better, she would much rather be held in Finn's strong arms while he whispering how much he loved her. When her crying finally stopped, she felt Kurt stand up. She watched him walk over to where his luggage was and take out something. She couldn't see what it was from where she was sitting but she was curious.

"Rachel, Finn gave me this to give to you when I thought you were ready to hear from him. It has instructions on what you are supposed to do with it. I was going to wait until the week was up but I think that you need it now."

Rachel cautiously looked at the envelope in Kurt's hand. Was this how he was going to finally end it? He didn't even have the decency to tell her to her face that they were over. She took the envelope and saw her name written on the front in Finn's handwriting. The envelope was quite heavy. She looked up at Kurt and he handed her a pink envelop with a big gold star on it. She opened it and saw Finn's writing, _I don't know where you are staying but go to the hotel we stayed for Nationals and read the first letter in the envelope. –Finn_. She grabbed her jacket and purse and ran out the door, not even bothering to tell Kurt good-bye or Santana where she was going. She had to read these letters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all so much for the feedback! I'm so glad you all enjoy it. This chapter is a bit longer but I hope you like it.**

**Again, I don't own Glee**

When she got to the hotel, she couldn't go in. Too many memories that were just too painful to relive right now. She sat down on a bench in front and pulled out the first letter carefully.

_My beautiful Rachel,_

_ I know right now you don't understand why I did what I did and I probably should have explained it to you better. But right now I want to tell you my side of the story of when I knew I truly loved you and could not stay away from you any longer. Do you remember Sue's sister Jean's funeral? Sue said something about being tethered to Jean and feeling as though that tether was now gone. I sat there trying to picture what she meant. I realized that I was tethered to you, not to Quinn. I broke up with Quinn right after that and all I could think about was you and how much I loved you. I went to tell you, but when I got to the auditorium I saw you with Jesse. I realized I was too late. I went home, completely heartbroken and Kurt told me about you singing "My Man" and how he knew that you were talking about me and not Jesse. I don't know if that is true but I went with it and decided that I would do whatever I could to get you back. I am tethered to you whether you like it or not :) I will love you forever! You will always be my big, gold star!_

_Forever, Faithfully_

_Finn_

Rachel wiped away the tears that were falling. She smiled as she recalled the memories associated with his letter. She remembered all she had felt as she sang that song, imagining Finn standing in front of her. She slowly turned the letter over to see that there was something written on the back.

_I asked you to take a chance on me and you ran away. Go to that place and open letter two._

Rachel jumped off the bench and took off running. She knew that place! It was just past Sardi's. As she got there, she sat down on another bench and took out the next letter. When she looked in the envelope she realized there was only one more left.

_You made it! I remember watching your face when we went on our "Work date" (pretty clever on my part eh!) Anyways I remember watching your face as you talked about getting your picture hung up on the walls of that restaurant. Do you remember what I told you? I told you I didn't know how to dream like that. But Rach, you've taught me how to. My dream is you. I believe so much in you and what you can accomplish. I know you are something so special. I don't know what time Kurt gave you this letter but I want you to always remember that I am looking down on you. For as long as we are apart, I want you to know that I will be looking up at the same star. Anyways enough about stars and them shining. I want you to think back to Regionals last year and the song you wrote. It shouldn't have been you singing about getting it right, it should have been me. As I watched you singing that song and could feel all the emotion you were feeling, I forgave you in an instant. I forgave you for kissing Puck and I wanted to run to you and take you in my arms and tell you that I loved you, but I was so confused and didn't know what to do but stand there and think of all the hurt I was causing you. When we came to New York, I was talking to the boys about writing a duet for us to sing. Puck, believe it or not, convinced me to take you on "a big awful date" as he put it. For once, Puck actually came up with a good idea. When you ran away from me that night, I felt like my whole world was falling apart. As I walked back to the hotel, the words to our duet came to me. I was so tired of pretending that I didn't love you. I'm so thankful that I finally got it right and we no longer have to be pretending! (Pretty good play with words there if you ask me!) There is one more letter that will hopefully explain everything. Go to our bridge. I love you!_

_Finn_

Rachel's feet couldn't take her fast enough to Central Park. As she got to Bow Bridge, she had a flashback of that day when he was standing there looking as handsome as ever just waiting for her. She wished she had been able to photograph that moment so she could always remember it. She found a bench not far from the bridge and sat down to read her final letter.

_My memory from standing on this bridge will always be one I remember. I remember looking at you as you walked towards me and thinking you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I wanted to take out my phone and take a picture of you walking towards me but I figured that might ruin the mood and give it away that I wasn't there for a work date. Alright well I have some explaining to do. When I left you, I told you that I was going to Fort Benning to redeem my father. Well I've been talking to Burt, and he thinks that he may have some pull being a member of Congress to take a look at his file and see if there is anything we can do to fix it. No Rach, I am not joining the army. The more I thought about it, I realized that if I did, then I had a greater chance of becoming like him. I am going to Georgia to see what I can do but it won't be a forever thing. I promise you I will come to New York to be with you. I hope Kurt and Santana followed my instructions and found an apartment with a room big enough for me and you to share when I get there. I promise you I won't be more than a year. I really do believe that this is part of my journey to becoming the man that you deserve. I know you probably still don't fully understand, but please don't hold back this year because you are waiting for me. Go show them that you deserve to be at NYADA. I'm so glad you got your 2__nd__ chance. You are so amazing, babe! I love you so much and I will love you forever! _

_Truly yours,_

_Finn_

_P.S. Now that you've finished reading this letter will you call me or text me so we can talk about it. I need to hear your perfect voice!_

Rachel stared at the words on the paper. He wasn't going to join the army! She felt so much relief lift from her. She could barely contain herself. She needed to hear his voice! She hurried to find her phone and sent Kurt a quick message telling him she'd be back shortly. Then she hit the button to call her Finn.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter. This one is kind of short so I'll try uploading 6 soon. I hope you like it. Kind of ends in a cliff hanger!**

Finn had just finished helping the last customer for the day. He wiped the oil from his hands and heard a faint ringing coming from his locker. He grabbed his phone and saw the picture of her smiling at him. His heart skipped a few beats and he quickly answered it before it could go to his answering machine.

"Hey babe! Did you enjoy your surprise of Kurt showing up?"

"Yeah it was great! It would have been better had you been my surprise but I guess your brother will have to do for now."

His heart broke a little at that comment and he assumed Kurt hadn't given her the letters yet. Maybe she was still too bitter towards him. "So did you guys have fun looking around for apartments?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to that question.

"Yeah we spent most of the day and finally found one that actually was in our price range with three bedrooms and separate bathrooms for each bedroom. It was really weird Santana and Kurt insisted that I had the biggest bedroom even though I'll probably have the least amount of stuff."

He couldn't help but smile. At least they had listened to his instructions of making sure that there was enough room for him to live when they finally got married. "So what else have you done that is fun?"

Rachel wanted to tell him all about his letter but as she went to say the words, she came up with a better idea. She would need to enlist the help of her friends back in Lima but she had no doubt that it would be perfect. "Oh, not a lot really. We pretty much just have hung out around the hotel. We were all so exhausted from apartment hunting." She hoped he wouldn't be able to figure out she was lying to him.

He wanted so bad to keep talking to her but just then a well-dressed man came into the tire shop looking around as though he was lost. "Hey Rach, another customer just came in and I'm the only one working. Can I call you back later?"

"Of course! Have fun fixing cars! Love you!"

Finn smiled, "I love you forever." And with that he hung up the phone and walked towards the well-dressed man.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 is up! I hope you are all enjoying the story thus far! Thanks for your feedback!**

Kurt was looking through the new college brochures that they had picked up and Santana was absentmindedly flipping through the television channels. They both were completely surprised when Rachel came bursting through the door running full speed.

"He's not going to join the Army!" Rachel could barely contain her excitement of finding out this news as well as coming up with her genius plan.

Kurt and Santana both just smiled at her. Rachel gasped, "You both knew didn't you? Why did no one tell me?"

Santana explained, "None of us knew until the party that night. You can thank Quinn for talking some sense into him. I thought Quinn had been anti the whole Finchel thing but she seemed to knock some sense into him. Mike told him there were better ways to redeem his father than giving up on the best thing that ever happened to him. Sam gave him the idea to write the letters. Seems like Mercedes has a hopeless romantic on her hands." Santana made a face of disgust that caused Kurt and Rachel to both laugh.

Kurt was still watching his best friend closely. He could tell that there was something else on her mind. "What is it diva? What is that pretty little brain of yours thinking of doing? Please not something we'll all regret."

Rachel smiled, "No but I am going to need lots of help figuring out how to do this. Kurt, when is Finn going to Georgia? Does your dad have to get a lot of things figured out in Washington first? Also as far as Finn knows, you didn't give me those letters."

Kurt looked at her with a confused look before replying, "Well dad isn't sure what all is going to happen. He just went back to Washington today and he was going to talk to some people about it. Finn's plans for Georgia are kind of put on hold for the moment so I'm not really sure when he's leaving. What is this plan of yours?" He looked at Santana who just shrugged her shoulders.

Rachel gave them both her biggest smile before turning her attention to her phone.

** Hey! So I need to enlist the help of as many of my Glee family as possible. Send me a text or give me a call if you're up to helping! Love and miss you all! –Rach**

Within a few minutes, her phone was going crazy with responses:

**What's up? Sam said he'll help ya too but he didn't want to waste your time of reading a text since he's sitting next to me. –Merc**

** I'd be more than happy to help you out! - Blaine**

** What's up my Jewish American Princess? The Puckster is at your service!**

** I'm confused? Why do you need our help? I can only help you if Lord Tubington can come too. Since Santana is in New York and Rory is getting ready to leave with Sugar. I can't leave him alone by himself. With his history it is too dangerous. –Brittney S. Pierce**

** Artie, Mike, and I will do whatever you need us to do! –Tina**

** I'll do whatever I can. –Mr. Shue**

The last text she received was from Quinn: **If this has anything to do with knocking some sense into your fiancé, I'm all yours! –Q**

Rachel smiled and sent another mass text informing all of them that she needed to face time with them at 9:00 that night. Her plan just might work after all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Since these next two chapters are kind of short, I decided to upload both of them. Thanks for all the feedback!**

As Finn approached the well-dressed man, he began to wonder what this man could need. He didn't seem to be worried about anything so Finn figured his car was not the problem. He had never seen this man and he knew that there weren't any more appointments since they were closing in about 10 minutes. The man's back was turned to him so as he got closer, he asked, "Can I help you?"

The man whipped around and smiled. "You must be Finn Hudson. I've heard a lot about you."

Now Finn was even more confused. "I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are but you seem to know about me."

The stranger laughed, "I will explain later. Can you and your mother meet me at Breadstix in about an hour?"

Finn looked up at the clock. It was now 6:25 meaning him and his mother would need to be there at 7:30. Since Kurt and Burt were both gone, he knew his mom wouldn't want to cook. "Let me call her and find out if…"

"Don't bother. She already knows about it. I will see you then." With that, the man turned on his heel leaving Finn feeling even more confused than before. He stood there for a few minutes watching the man drive away. He decided that he needed to get the shop shut down so he could get home.

He walked into the Hudson-Hummel home and saw his mom standing in the kitchen talking on the phone. He wanted to question her about the man but she held up her finger to him and continued talking to whomever was on the phone. Finn walked up the stairs, taking two at a time and rushed into his bedroom. Sitting on his bed was the shirt and tie he'd worn to graduation with a note from his mom: _I know you are probably so confused right now but I will explain on the way to Breadstix. Get ready and we'll head over there. Love you! –Mom._

He wanted to rush downstairs and demand that his mom tell him what was going on but he just walked into the bathroom to get ready. He was now worried that this was going to be a very long night.


	8. Chapter 8

**I promise you will find out about the strange man soon! Hope you are enjoying my story! Your reviews would be awesome and appreciated!**

Rachel felt excitement building as she watched the clock inch closer to 9:00. Lucky for her Kurt and Santana both had iPhones as well as Skype on their computer. It had been arranged that Quinn would Facetime on Rachel's phone, Blaine on Kurt's, and Brittney on Santana's. Rachel had Skype brought up on all three laptops waiting for Mercedes, Tina, and Mr. Shue to log on. Rachel needed Mr Shue's help with this idea since he was so close to Finn. Before Burt had come into Finn's life, Mr. Shue had been the closest thing he had to a father. At 9:00 sharp, all 6 electronic devices began ringing. They positioned all the devices so that Rachel could be seen. Quinn was sitting between Puck and Joe, Mercedes and Sam seemed happier than ever, Artie was holding Tina's computer with Mike sitting on the bed with her, and Blaine was listening as Kurt told him all about the information he'd found about colleges in New York. Brittney looked confused but Rachel heard Rory and Sugar laughing in the background. Will was sitting in the kitchen with Emma washing the dishes in the background. She smiled and almost started crying when she realized how supportive her friends were of her. She cleared her throat and began with a smile on her face:

"You guys are all so amazing! So I am sure I was the last to know but Finn isn't going to the army." She smiled as all her friends grinned at her and nodded their heads. "Anyways, he sent me around New York today to tell me about why he did what he did. I hear I have Sam to thank for that."

Everyone laughed as Sam looked up blushing. It had been very obvious he was not playing much attention to what Rachel was saying and was more involved in watching Merecdes. Santana groaned in disgust, "Do you see what I mean Rachel. No me gusta!"

Rachel giggled, "Well I want to do something just as special, however, I am here in New York, and Finn is in Lima. Will you all help me?"

Everyone began chattering and agreeing. She informed all of the she would get it all worked out and send them an email with their assignments. While she was giving the instructions, Puck's phone began to ring. He looked down, excused himself from the conversation and asked Quinn to fill him in on whatever he missed. He answered the phone as he was going down the stairs. "Hudson! You're go for Puck! What's up man?" Puck was standing outside on Quinn's porch when he finally heard Finn's voice.

"Where are you man? I need to talk to you."

Puck couldn't tell if Finn was crying or what was going on. "I'm at Q's. Want to pick me up here?"

"I'll be there in 5 minutes. I'm just leaving my house."

Puck ran back into the house and motioned for Joe to come outside. He told Joe where he was going but told him not to say a word to anyone about it. He then told Rachel that he had to go and he was looking forward to helping out with her master plan. He was just running back out the door when he heard Finn pull up. Puck had seen Finn upset, but he was really worried about what could be wrong with his best friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Finn reluctantly walked into Breadstix behind his mom. The man was sitting in a booth and motioned for them to come over. The man and Carole seemed to be familiar with each other, which confused Finn. After a few minutes of small talk between the two, Carole finally made the introduction Finn had been waiting for.

"Finn, honey. This is Detective Matthew Jones. Burt got in contact with him because he specializes in cases like your dad's. He's been looking into it for a few days and thinks that he may have found something we'd be interested in hearing. Do you think you're ready to hear what he has to say?"

Finn didn't like the way that his mom had said that. He looked up at Detective Jones and nodded.

Detective Jones took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and began his report. "First of all Finn, I must say that you are quite the remarkable young man. I hope you don't mind but Burt told me a bit about your situation. I don't think that any 18-year old would be so dedicated to trying to redeem his father's name as well as sending his fiancé to New York to live out her dream. I actually did a bit of research on you before I came so that I could recognize you when I saw you. I must say I'm impressed with your accomplishments young man. I am sure your father would be proud of the man you are becoming."

Finn gave him a weak smile. Finn wasn't sure why he felt so sick to his stomach. He suddenly longed for Rachel to be sitting next to him to help him through whatever this news may be.

Detective Jones continued, "Your mom gave me a bit of information about your father that helped my searching immensely. As she has told you, he received a dishonorable discharge due to drug problems. I don't know how much research you have done about getting that title changed but it is really hard and takes a very long time. Let me tell you what I found out."

Finn listened to everything the man said and felt completely helpless. He had promised Rachel he would only be a year away from her, and this man made it seem as though this could take years to do. The man seemed to think that going to Georgia would help so that they could talk to some of the people who would have known more about the situation than what was written in the actual report. Finn sat there and listened to what he said for about 2 hours but he could hardly focus on what he was saying. Finn was going to have to make the choice between being with Rachel in New York or redeeming his father's name. The man thanked them for seeing him and handed Carole his card and told her he'd be in contact if he found out any more information. Finn rose from his seat to thank Detective Jones and shake his hand. He knew he needed to tell someone, but he couldn't call Rachel. He'd already caused her so much pain in the past few days.

* * *

He pulled into the empty drive way and told his mom that he was going to go hang out with Puck. She gave him a small smile, touched his cheek, and told him how proud she was of the man he was becoming. He gave her a faint smile, thanked her, and told her not to wait up for him. As soon as she was in the house, he took out his phone to call Puck. They had had their history but with Rachel and Kurt both in New York, Finn didn't have much choice on who to talk to.

As Finn drove towards Quinn's house, he thought it was weird that he Puck was there. When he pulled up in front of the house he thought it was even weirder that Joe's bike was sitting next to the house. Puck was just coming out of the house. When he closed the door, Finn took off. He drove until he was stopped in front of William McKinley High School. They sat in silence for a few moments until Finn finally spoke.

"So Burt hired a private detective to check out my dad's case."

Puck looked over at him in the darkness. "That's great man! I mean it is isn't it? Now you can go to New York with Rachel rather than…" He stopped talking when he saw Finn break down.

"No you don't get it!" Finn was shouting now, "Cases like this are almost impossible to change the status of. Detective Jones kept going on and on for two hours about how hard it will be and how it may take years to change it and if I go to Georgia I may end up staying there for a few years and I promised Rachel that I'd only be a year! Puck what am I going to do?" Finn began sobbing into his hands. "I shouldn't have sent her to New York by herself. I can't believe I really thought I could change things. I guess I really am just a Lima-loser."

"Finn Hudson! You are not a Lima-loser! Why are you so hard on yourself? So you can't change the government's mind. So what! Rachel needs you in New York with her and you need to be with her. You have been completely miserable for the past few days without her. Why exactly do you want to change your dad's status?"

Finn had never had anyone ask him this question. He watched Puck get out his phone and send someone a message but he was too concentrated on thinking about the question he'd been asked. He replied so quietly that Puck almost missed it, "I have no idea."

**Let me know what you think! I love reading all your responses! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning was very laid back for Kurt, Santana, and Rachel. They all slept in and went down to the lobby just in time to grab some breakfast. Once she had eaten, Rachel sat down in front of her computer to start writing up the plan. An hour into it, she stopped. She had never even asked what had happened to Finn after the train left. She looked towards Kurt and Santana who were both glued to the television. Now was her chance. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to them.

Kurt looked over and smiled, "Well how is the plan working out? Everyone seemed pretty excited to help ya out."

Rachel laughed, "Yeah everyone did seem pretty pumped. It is working out wonderfully but I have a question for the two of you." She paused, searching for the right words to ask, "What happened after Finn quit running after the train?" She was watching Kurt and Santana cautiously to see how they would react to her question. They both looked at each other and sighed.

"So much for finishing my television show," Santana mumbled as she picked up the remote to turn off the T.V. She brought her legs up and wrapped her arms around them.

Kurt leaned back on the headboard and gave Rachel a small smile, "Finn would kill us if he found out we were telling you this but since you now know the truth from his letters, I think you deserve the truth about what happened. I guess I'll start with how he convinced all of us to go to the train station rather than to the wedding." Kurt was watching Rachel carefully trying to judge how the little diva would take the news she was about to receive. "Finn came into my room right after graduation. I could tell that he had been crying, a lot, but I assumed that it had something to do with the fact that he was upset about graduating or whatever. He told me he had just got back from your house which confused me because I knew you were at Mercedes house since I had just got back from there. He told me that he'd gone to talk to your dads. I figured it was to finish the wedding plans. He got choked up and told me the two of you weren't getting married, he was going to set you free and send you to New York to live out your dream. You know, I'm pretty sure he told you why he was doing it." Rachel nodded and urged him to continue. After taking a deep breath, he continued. "He told me that your dads actually seemed relieved when he told them he was calling off the wedding, which surprised me because I thought they were pretty supportive of the whole thing." This surprised Rachel because she too thought her dads supported her decision to marry Finn. She urged Kurt to continue

"Well I asked him why he couldn't go with you and find a job close to you or whatever. He said that he needed to redeem his father's name. When I asked him why, he just shrugged and said it felt right."

Santana interjected, "I think his main thing is when you attach the Hudson to your name, he worries that it will drag you down or something. He kept saying he didn't want your bright star to be associated with that unless he could get it cleared. Which I thought you were changing it to Hudson-Berry anyways but whatever. Anyways, continue on Kurt."

"Thanks Satan, I mean Santana," Kurt grinned at his joke as Santana hit him in the arm. "Anyways, I told him I thought he was making a huge mistake and he completely broke down sobbing. He started saying things about how he couldn't hold you back from your dream and how he felt like that was all he was doing. He asked if I would tell everyone the new plan because he just couldn't talk about it with anyone else. I called everyone, with the help of Blaine and we told them the news. I think the one who was most upset was Sugar because this was the second time she'd been asked to be a bridesmaid only to have the wedding not happen. As for what happened after the train left, you'll have to ask Santana. I could hardly see anything through my tears."

Santana gladly took over the conversation. "Well after he realized he couldn't keep up with the train he just stopped and stood there until it was completely out of sight. We were all still standing where we were watching this. I was impressed with how well he'd held up when you were there. Suddenly he just dropped. Puck and Sam ran over to him to help pick him up for fear he'd like roll over on the tracks or something. He looked awful! He just kept saying how it was for the best and necessary and yeah. Mr. Shue and Emma took him out to lunch and then he came to the party but he looked so miserable. I know Q went and talked to him. He told her that if you were meant to be, the universe would bring you back together. I thought she was going to slap him she was so upset. She told him that did he not see, the universe had brought you together too many times for him to ignore it. She told him she did not almost die to go to his wedding for him to just set the girl free. I think she really made him think about what he was doing.

"Sam reminded him about the date you guys went on in New York and told him maybe he shouldn't have sent you to the place where he'd fought so hard to win you back. By the way, I had no idea the boys serenaded you! I mean cheesy but somewhat cute at the same time. Anyways, so we tried knocking some sense into him. Mike told him that it probably wouldn't do any good to join the army and I told him I was coming to New York so I could room with you until he got here. Of course Kurt wouldn't let me leave Lima without him and there you have it. I don't think I left out any details. I'm just glad Frankenteen finally had some sense knocked into that big head of his."

Rachel had had tears streaming down her cheeks the entire time she'd been listening to her friends tell the story. Finn had been so brave for her. She had just assumed when he didn't cry that he didn't care, but that was not the case at all. She couldn't believe that all her friends had helped Finn to see the light and not make what could potentially be the biggest mistake of both their lives. She was so grateful. She wished all her friends could have been there; instead she sat up and hugged Kurt and Santana before returning to her work. She was even more determined to make this surprise as special as could be.

**This was one of my favorite chapters to write! I think it shows a side of Finn that we didn't see in the Finale. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! Please leave your reviews about it and the entire story!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm so glad you all enjoyed the last chapter! Thanks for reading my story!**

It had been a week and a half since Rachel had left for New York. Santana had returned briefly to load up her car with the essentials for their apartment and then she was off again. The landlord had wanted them to move in as soon as possible and since Kurt was still trying to work out his next year, him and Rachel stayed behind. Finn ached to hold her in his arms but he knew that this was probably for the best. They had talked every night and would occasionally send texts giving each other a quick update of what was going on in their lives but it just wasn't the same. She kept asking him if he wanted to Facetime with her, but he wasn't sure he could look into her eyes without seeing the hurt. She had still never mentioned anything about his letters which had him a bit worried. He decided one night to text Kurt to see what the hold-up was.

**Hey bro, just wondering if you had given Rachel those letters yet. I don't want you to give them to her before she's ready so I guess what I'm really asking is how is she really doing? She tells me she's fine but I don't know if I believe that. –Finn**

Kurt read the message and showed it to Rachel who read it silently before returning back to her computer. "I take it you're not close to being done Rach?" He was hesitant to break her concentration but he felt like his brother deserved the truth.

"Actually tomorrow is when it is all going down. Tell him that I'm ready, you are still just watching me to make sure that I will be able to handle the truth and not want to come running back to Lima since I have freshman orientation coming up soon." With that, Rachel returned her focus to what she was typing.

Kurt nodded to the back of her head and worked on composing a message that would tide Finn over for another day. **Hey sorry we have been super busy and I kind of forgot about the letters. I am going to keep watching her today and see if she'll be able to handle the news without wanting to jump on the next plane to Lima. I'll let you know when I give them to her. Hang in there. Give Carole my love! – Kurt**

Finn read the message and dropped the phone back on his bed. He'd been waiting for her reply just to find out that Kurt had forgotten all about it which, come to think of it was really strange for Kurt to do. Even though he was worried about what he might see, he decided he couldn't take not seeing her face any longer. He found her contact in his phone and hit the Facetime button, hoping she wouldn't be too busy to talk to him.

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Rachel looked up from her computer to see she was getting an upcoming Facetime call from Finn. She threw her phone at Kurt, told him to answer, and ran to the bathroom to make sure she looked presentable. Kurt laughed at his friend and hit the button. Finn was surprised to see Kurt's face and had to check that he hadn't called the wrong number by accident.

"Finn, hey! Rachel is just in her room and left her phone on the counter. Give me a minute to find her."

"No it's fine I can talk to you for a few minutes until she comes out. How's the big city? I'm actually kind of surprised you haven't come back to see Blaine yet to be completely honest. I mean I know you're busy trying to figure out all your classes and stuff but I can't believe you wouldn't come back and try to work on it here. Mom misses having you and Burt around so she may come to New York herself to get you and…"  
"Finn, Blaine is at Six Flags right now. Remember he does that performance gig there every summer so he is really busy right now anyways. I wish I could come home but since Santana left to get stuff, I can't leave Rachel here by herself. You would personally kill me if I did. Anyways here's your girl. Bye Finn."

Finn suddenly got nervous as he heard Kurt and Rachel talking. He looked at himself in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable and when he looked back, there she was smiling at him. He gave her his crooked smile and just stared into her big, brown eyes. He was brought back to reality when she began to laugh.

"So you call to talk to me and then all you do is stare at me. I don't think that is how this whole thing is supposed to work, my dear! So to what do I owe this great honor of seeing your handsome face? I've been trying for a week to get you to do this."

Finn hoped the lighting of his phone would hide the fact that he was blushing. He suddenly felt guilty about putting this off. "I'm sorry, love, I just didn't know if you really wanted to see my face. Honestly I can't believe I waited this long to see your beautiful face. So what have you been up to? I want a tour of the new place!"

Rachel jumped up so she could show him the place that they would start their lives in together once he finished his mission. She was so excited and started in the kitchen to make her way to the bedroom they would eventually share. When she walked in, she almost announced to him that this was their room but stopped herself before she gave away the fact that she had already read the letters. She showed him around and saw him smile when she announced that the room was much too large for her. They talked for another half hour before she could see the fatigue start to take over his face. Checking the clock, she realized it was only 10:30, but knowing Finn, he hadn't been sleeping the past few nights. "Finn, you look tired, why don't you go to bed and I'll talk to you later? Do you have the day off tomorrow?"

Finn was almost upset that she knew him well enough to know he was falling asleep. "Yeah I do but I don't know what I'm going to do. I texted all the guys and they all told me they were busy so I may just be playing video games all day or working on finding out something about my dad. Rach, before you go, will you sing to me? I feel like it has been forever since I heard you sing. Do you remember when you got laryngitis and told me that you were like Tinker Bell and needed applause to live? That still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me but I think I am beginning to know what you meant. I decided this week that I need to hear your voice to live."

Rachel was suddenly all choked up. _Why does he always say those kind of things right before he wants me to sing to him? _She smiled and asked him what song he wanted her to sing. He gave her a weary smile and told her to start singing "My Man." She gasped when he said this and realized she had never sung it to him. She'd sung it about him, but never to him. She turned to look at Kurt who had looked up from his phone and was staring at her with wide eyes. She turned back to Finn and smiled, "Okay I will sing it but first you have to get all ready for bed and set your phone down on your pillow as though I was lying next to you okay?"

He set the phone down and ran to get ready for bed. She covered the microphone and turned to Kurt, "What am I going to do? Yes this song is about him but I don't think I can sing it for him to hear." Kurt came up and gave his best friend a hug, "Just show him how much you love him through that song. It might help you when you realize you may not see him for another few months. Just sing from your heart. He loves your voice whether he catches the deeper meaning of the song or not. I love you, Rachel. I'll be in my room if you need me when he falls asleep." With that, he kissed her forehead and walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Rachel smiled. She couldn't imagine being in New York without Kurt. As much as it hurt her that Finn wasn't there, she knew she'd be completely lost without Kurt.

Finn ran through his room and leaped onto his bed. He was finally going to be able to hear the song that had been supposedly sung for him last year. He studied her face as he saw she was talking to Kurt. He suddenly got jealous of his step-brother when he saw him lean down to kiss Rachel's forehead. He suddenly ached to be the one doing that. _Only a few more months and you'll be there with her, _he thought to himself. He set his phone down so she wouldn't be surprised to see him staring at her. When he saw her looking around the room, he picked it back up. "Alright my love, I am all ready for bed and to hear you sing me a lullaby. Before I set this phone down and close my eyes though I have to tell you something. I love you, Rachel Berry. I cannot wait until the day that you and I are reunited and can finally be married. I know you don't understand it now, but I told you during our Disco lesson that I wanted to be a great man for you and well, this is how I am becoming more of that man. I love you so much! Alright now I am ready. Good night, Princess. I hope you have sweet dreams." He blew her a kiss which she reciprocated and he set the phone down on his pillow.

Rachel sighed as she wiped away the tears that had fallen and began her song:

_Oh, my man I love him so, he'll never know - all my life is just despair, but I don't care – when he takes me in his arms, the world is bright, all right…_

She made it through the song until the very last part: _What's the difference if I say, I'll go away; when I know I'll come back on my knee someday – For whatever my man is, I am his forevermore_. She could hear Finn softly snoring. She smiled and whispered even though she knew he couldn't hear her, "I love you Finn Hudson. I don't care if you never clear your father's name, I cannot wait until the day that I become Rachel Barbra Berry Hudson or in other words Mrs. Rachel Hudson." She hung up and set her phone down. She grabbed her computer to finish up the last of her obligations and sent off the lists. Tomorrow morning, her plan would begin and she hoped that Finn would see just how much he meant to her. She checked her phone to make sure that everything had worked and sent out a text to everyone she was getting help from.

**Alright your instructions have been sent as well as a list of the extra things you will need. Finn has no idea what is going on so hopefully this is all a success. Thank you so much for helping me out! I love each of you so much! –XO Rachel**

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**Do you guys have any ideas that you'd like to see in this story? Leave them in the response and I'll try to tie them into my story! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter. The adventures are about to begin! Please leave your reviews**

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Finn awoke to the smell of bacon. He realized he had slept better last night than he had the past two weeks. He looked at his phone as saw that he had two texts: one from his mom telling him breakfast was ready whenever he would like to wake up; the other was from his favorite person wishing him a good morning and telling him to have a great day! He quickly replied to Rachel's text:

**Good morning, love. My day is much better now that I've talked to you. I'm going to run downstairs to eat with my mom and then I'll call you if you're not busy. I love you!**

Rachel read the text and had to smile. She knew he wouldn't be able to call her until later, but she hoped that he would enjoy the surprise more than talking to her.

Finn ran down the stairs and was startled to see Sam sitting at the bar eating breakfast. Sam had been staying with the Hudson-Hummel's since moving back to Lima to help the New Directions win Sectionals. Sam had told Finn he was going to be spending the weekend back with his family before he started working with Finn at the shop. Sam turned around and smiled. The look on Finn's face was perfect.

"Hey uh Sam, I thought you were going back home for the weekend. I mean I'm glad you're here and all but kind of surprised."

Sam chuckled, "Yeah I was going to but then my mom called and said that my dad had to work so we had to change weekends. I'm pretty bummed but I figure it's for the best. I decided to stay here and hang out with you and the other guys! What do ya say?"

Finn was feeling even more confused, "Yeah that sounds great but when I talked to the other guys, they all had plans so I was just going to hang around here for the day playing video games. I mean after I eat breakfast I'm going to go call Rach and talk to her but we can do whatever I guess."

Carole set down a plate in front of Finn and sighed, "I'm afraid you aren't going to be able to call Rachel after breakfast. Burt called and said one of the customers called and they need their oil changed before they leave on vacation this afternoon. He wants you and Sam to go down after breakfast and change it for them. When Kurt called this morning he made it sound like they were going to have a full day ahead of them. Santana had just got back and so they were going to be painting and everything. You'll just have to call her later. I'm sorry, Honey."

Finn mumbled something to his mom and dove into his plate. Carole looked to Sam who gave her a knowing smile. He didn't suspect anything.

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Finn was confused when he and Sam pulled up in front of William McKinley High School. "Uh, Sam, this isn't the shop. Why are we at the high school exactly?"

Sam gave Finn an innocent look before laughing, "Come on, man. You really think I wouldn't know where I was going. We're not going to the tire shop. I have a better idea." With that he got out of the car and began running towards the school.

Finn tried to follow him but he couldn't get his seatbelt undone. He turned to find out what was wrong with it and caught a glance of something sitting on the driver's seat Sam had just left. In perfect handwriting his name was written on the front of a folded paper. He finally got the seatbelt undone but didn't dare touch the letter for fear it would disappear from his reach. Slowly he reached towards it and held it in his hands. It was definitely Rachel's handwriting, but how did Sam have the letter? He broke the gold star seal and opened it to see what could possibly be written. _If you are reading this letter then your adventure is about to begin. I'm guessing Sam ran off before giving this to you so your best bet is to run into the school and try finding him. My advice, follow the sound of the music! :) I love you, Finn. –Rachel_


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for your reviews! These next few chapters are all about Rachel's plan! Hope you enjoy!**

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Finn stared at the words that were written on the paper before he took off running. He had to find the music. As he opened the doors to the school, he could faintly hear music. He followed it until he stumbled into the auditorium. To his surprise, there was a white screen hanging down with a projector glowing blue onto it. He looked around and saw Sam strumming away on his guitar.

Sam looked up and smiled, "Glad to see you could finally join us."

"Us? Sam, there were no other cars in the parking lot. The only two in here are us unless you stashed them in the trunk or something." His thought was cut short when he heard beeping and he realized that the screen was counting down from 10.

Sam interrupted his thoughts, "If I were you, I'd take a seat and enjoy the next few hours because your fiancé would kill us if you missed this." And with that, Sam walked out of the auditorium.

Finn found a seat near the middle and gasped when he saw Rachel's face. She was looking up asking Kurt if this thing was on yet. "Rachel," he whispered but then he realized it was just a recording.

"Hey babe! So first off, Kurt says hello and that he misses you more than I do but I don't think that is even possible. Anyways, welcome to the beginning of your fantastic day! Kurt actually gave me your letters the day he got here, but I wouldn't let him tell you until after I finished all of this. You should be getting a text any minute from him telling you that I read them." As soon as she finished her sentence, Finn felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He got it out and laughed as he saw Kurt's apology. He was brought back to reality when he heard Rachel clear her throat.

"Alright so a lot has happened to us over the past two years. Many of those moments have happened right there on that stage. We shared our first kiss here and you proposed to me. So much happened right there that helped to determine our relationship. It is kind of crazy. I want to tell you about the song us girls chose for Mr. Shue to propose to Emma with. He was telling us that he felt a connection to Emma the first time he saw her. We chose to sing the song, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Santana, Mercedes, Tina, and I sang that song and I must say I thought it sounded amazing. Mercedes and Tina should be coming out on the stage any minute to sing it for you while I tell you about the first time I saw your face."

Finn looked at the stage to see Mercedes and Tina bringing out wooden stools accompanied by Brittney to sing Santana's part. As they began singing, he drew his attention back to Rachel. She took a deep breath and continued.

"You may think that the first time I saw you was the first time you came to Glee rehearsal. That may have been the first time you saw me, but I knew who you were before that. I remember walking down the hall first day of school. I tried to avoid eye contact with everyone because I knew no one really liked me. I saw a group of Football players walking towards me. I didn't recognize the boy who was leading the way. I moved over to the side so that I wouldn't be in their way and I saw you for the first time. I don't know what it was but I felt instantly connected to you. It sounds stupid, I know, because you had no idea I even existed. I had accepted that I would go my entire high school career without ever talking to you until the day you walked into Glee Club. I know I was kind of crazy woman after I met you but I figured that if I didn't make you know me, then I would never get my chance with you.

"When you first told me you were dating Quinn, I felt as though my whole world had just ended. I knew I had no chance, but I couldn't give up on the feelings I had. I'm so glad that I didn't scare you off with all my craziness. Kurt told me to apologize to you for him because it was his idea to put me in the cat suit. Ahahaha! Okay he didn't tell me to apologize but I wish you could see his reaction right now because it's pretty priceless. Anyways so there you have it. The first time I saw you, I felt an instant connection with you. I never imagined that one person could fill the missing parts of my life as completely as you do. I love you, Finn Hudson!"

With that last comment the screen went blue. Finn hadn't even noticed that the girls had finished singing and all had tears in their eyes as they listened to his personal message. Finn wiped his own tears and sat there for a few minutes before Merecedes came up to him and handed him another paper.


	14. Chapter 14

_**The adventure continues. Thank-you for reading and leaving your reviews! I don't own Glee or any of the characters mentioned in this story!**_

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_Someone will be outside to take you to your next location. They know where they are going, but I want you to see if you can figure it out. Here's your clue: I have had my fair share of "diva" moments as you well know. You brought me to my senses here after my last one by coming and rescuing me before I missed out on one of our last times together with all our friends. Think long and hard and I'm positive you'll get it! Lots of Love!_

Finn walked out of the school to see Mike and Rory waiting for him next to Mike's car. He got in the car and gave them the next location. They both smiled and started driving to the hotel where the anti-prom King and Queen had been crowned.

* * *

Mike and Rory led Finn into the lobby. Mike said a few things to the receptionist who smiled and pointed the way. They walked down a hall until they were in a conference type room. On one of the long tables was an envelope addressed to him. Mike and Rory excused themselves and told him they'd be waiting in the lobby for him. Finn nodded and walked towards the table. He sat down and broke the seal and began reading. He was a bit disappointed that it wasn't a handwritten letter, rather it was typed. He chuckled as he began reading the letter. It was almost as if Rachel had read his mind.

_I'm so sorry that this letter isn't hand-written. Santana had to get back to Lima before I could get everything done so I apologize. It was hard to put this together since I am in New York and you're in Ohio but everyone was so willing to help me out so that I could make this day special for you. I wish so badly that it was me going around to all these places with you but you had the bright idea for us to "surrender." _

When Finn read the last line, his stomach dropped. She was still bitter about the whole thing and he felt guilty for sending her away against her will. He figured it would be better to take the wrath of Rachel through a letter than the wrath of his friends from not finishing this day they had all worked so hard on.

_Anyways, this letter is mainly to help you see all the reasons that it is impossible for us to surrender and let the universe do its own thing. We're together because we let the universe take over. If not, you'd probably still be dating Quinn and I would be getting slushied every morning. Alright so here we go. We're compliments of each other, our hands fit perfectly together :), you keep me grounded while I help you reach for the stars. There are so many more reasons that we should be together but I just want to make sure you understand something. When we were talking in your car when you were setting me free, you said that you felt like you always held me back and you couldn't live with yourself if I didn't live my dreams because of you. Sweetheart, you have become my dream._

_When I told Kurt and Mercedes that we were getting engaged, Mercedes asked if I was scared that I was making the wrong decision. I told her that in all my dreams, struggling or succeeding, there you were. I told her that the scariest part was choosing to know that you and I were meant to be together forever. I told you before that my home is wherever you are and I've definitely seen that while I've been here in New York without you. I have no idea how you thought I'd survive my big dreams without you. Whenever I feel like I'm going to fail, you always help me see that I can do anything that I try to. You've always done that for as long as you and I have been friends. I know I seem completely confident in everything that I do but the truth is, I'm so scared. You always know just what to say to me to help me focus. I always had you to run to when I was finished performing or whatever I may be doing. I guess what I'm trying to tell you is I'll surrender for a while, but I just can't stop loving you, you're the one that I want! (Ha there is my play on words with songs we've sung together!) However, just so you know by surrendering, that does not mean that I am going to be taking this ring off my finger. We will get married if I have to come hunt you down in Georgia myself! I love you too much to let you slip between my fingers. _

_By the way, someone should be coming in to sing you another song sometime soon. I just want to say that I know God gave me you and I can't imagine my life without you in it. I love you so much babe! –Forever yours, Rachel_

Finn wiped the tears from his eyes and noticed Puck, Sam, and Artie come in carrying guitars. They all smiled at him and Puck introduced the song, "So Rachel insisted that we sing Blake Shelton's hit "God Gave Me You." So here's our attempt to get some country up in this joint."

Artie set something on the table but Finn was too focused on the song to really know what was going on. He had never heard this song and wanted to know what it had to do with what she had just said to him.

_(Puck): I've been a walking heartache  
I've made a mess of me  
The person that I've been lately  
Ain't who I wanna be_

_(Sam): But you stay here right beside me_  
_And watch as the storm blows through_  
_And I need you_

_(All): Cause God gave me you for the ups and downs_  
_God gave me you for the days of doubt_  
_And for when I think I lost my way_  
_There are no words here left to say, it's true_  
_God gave me you_  
_Gave me you_

_(Artie): There's more here than what we're seeing_  
_A divine conspiracy_  
_That you, an angel lovely_  
_Could somehow fall for me_  
_You'll always be love's great martyr_  
_And I'll be the flattered fool_  
_And I need you_  
_Yeah!_

_(All): God gave me you for the ups and downs_  
_God gave me you for the days of doubt And for when I think I lost my way_  
_There are no words here left to say, it's true_  
_God gave me you_

_(Sam): On my own I'm only_  
_Half of what I could be_  
_I can't do without you_  
_We are stitched together_  
_And what love has tethered_  
_I pray we never undo_

_(All): Cause God gave me you for the ups and downs_  
_God gave me you for the days of doubt_  
_God gave me you for the ups and downs_  
_God gave me you for the days of doubt_  
_And for when I think I lost my way_  
_There are no words here left to say, it's true_  
_God gave me you, gave me you._  
_He gave me you._

Finn wiped the tears from his eyes as he grasped what she was meaning by having the boys sing this song. He smiled when they finished and noticed Artie picking up what he had set on the table. Artie handed him another envelope and told him when he was ready to meet them in the lobby. He couldn't wait to read her next letter.

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**I wanted you to all be able to imagine the boys actually singing this song. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Here is the next chapter. This one is a lot longer! We're almost done with Rachel's surprise. I hope you are all enjoying this story!**_

* * *

Rachel started pacing while waiting for her computer to connect. She was afraid she was going to miss it. She soon saw Artie's face on the screen and she almost tipped her chair over trying to pull it out. Artie laughed at his friend, "Alright he's almost done reading it, well we think he is. He has been reading it for a long time. What did you write a novel?"

Rachel giggled at the remark. She hadn't meant for the letters to be so long but sometimes she got a bit long winded. "Sorry Artie. Thanks again for doing this. All of you! I appreciate it so much. What is his expression right now?"

She heard Artie talking to Sam and Puck then he replied, "He's got tears in his eyes. Oh, wait he just looked up we're a go. I'll set ya on the table so you can see his face!"

Rachel was so nervous she could barely contain herself. She quickly placed a piece of tape over the camera on her computer and sat back to listen and watch Finn's reaction. She could barely contain her tears and was so glad that Finn couldn't hear her crying. His reaction mirrored her own and she hoped that he understood what the message she wanted him to get from this song was. She was relieved when she saw him smile at the end and then she was jerked away from his face and her camera was turned off. She was hoping that the rest of this adventure was as successful as she had planned it.

* * *

Finn broke the seal to his next clue. He wondered how many more of these she could do. He had definitely run out of ideas after about three letters and yet she seemed to be going strong with songs to go along with each one. He smiled as he read his clue; this one was just too easy. However, when he read the last sentence his stomach dropped:

_Go to your favorite place for us to eat even though I don't understand the big thing with the breadsticks there. Your ride awaits you in the lobby and your date should be there shortly! Yes, Finn you are going on a date for this one. :) _

He was confused. She told him they were still together yet she was sending him off on a date. He figured he better not argue with her because she obviously had a plan that he himself was not completely aware of. When he walked out in the lobby, Puck was waiting for him. He looked around for the other guys but they were nowhere to be found. Shrugging his shoulder, he walked over to Puck. "So I'm guessing you are my ride to Breadstix?"

Puck smiled his trademark grin and replied with a yes, sir. Finn wanted to ask him who his date was but he figured Rachel had sworn Puck to secrecy. She usually did and for some reason Puck did everything she told him to. They made the ride in complete silence.

When they pulled into Breakstix, Puck got out and joined him. Finn followed Puck to a booth towards the middle of the restaurant. Puck spoke to the waitress and she nodded before walking away. Puck and Finn sat down. Finn finally broke the silence, "Dude, please don't tell me you're my date for the evening."

Puck laughed out loud, "Nah dude my instructions were to be here as well. Not really sure what all is going down. Your girl pretty much has everything completely figured out. What do you think about it so far?" Puck was watching Finn's face intently because he had to send Rachel a text telling him if their song was a success.

Finn attempted to smile but then the tears started falling, "Man, I feel like such a girl because I have cried so much the past few weeks. Everything has been so perfect. Honestly sometimes I have a hard time believing that such an amazing, caring girl could really be mine. How could I ever be so lucky? I have caused her so much hurt and pain over the past three years and yet she still loves me so completely."

Puck smiled and looked up to see Quinn coming towards them carrying the next surprise. She sat down next to Puck and set her extremely large bag on the table. "Well, Finn, I am officially here! Let the next part of this fantastic day begin!"

Finn looked around for another piece of paper but didn't see one anywhere. "Uh, Quinn, weren't you supposed to give me something? Like a letter from Rachel?"

Quinn looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "You honestly think Rachel would have written you another letter? She has a different plan for this place. You will still get your song, but we have a different activity planned. Puck, you're welcome to stay if you'd like or if you have something better to do, I'll understand."

Finn looked at Puck expecting him to get up and charge out. Instead, he saw Puck staring into Quinn's eyes and couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of the fact that his best friend had someone sitting next to him that was allowing him to do so. He remembered how lost he would always get whenever he looked into Rachel's dark chocolate eyes. He cleared his throat to try bringing the two of them back to reality. "Alright Quinn what is the activity for this stop?"

Quinn turned her attention back to Finn. She felt Puck move closer to her as if he was really interested in what Rachel had planned. Quinn pulled out two different pieces of papers. One had written Pros and the other Cons. "Rach wants me to help you figure out the pros and cons of going to Georgia. She knows you have thought a ton about this but she wants to know your main reasons for trying to redeem your father's name." As she was explaining, she pulled out another paper that said top five reasons to go and one that said top five not to go. "Which would you like to start with? She said not to fill out both sets but pick one – either pros and cons or five reasons to go and not to go."

Finn should have expected that this would be a request Rachel had but he didn't want to fill out these papers, especially not where he had found out about what the detective had told him. He looked at both sets of paper and chose the top five ones. He looked to his two friends for encouragement. Quinn handed him a pen and nodded her head as if telling him it was okay. He took a deep breath and began with the top five reasons not to go:

_* Rachel_

_* Rachel_

_* Rachel_

_* Rachel_

_*Rachel_

He smirked at his work and handed it back to Quinn. She laughed and shook her head before handing it back to him. "What about Rachel, Finn? I know she is the main reason but that is not what she wants to see. Try again! Oh, and she said that only three of the five can be about her." She giggled at the confused look on Finn and Puck's faces and pulled out the email she'd received from Rachel to show them she wasn't making it up. There in plain print it clearly stated, _I know he is going to say the top reasons not to go are because of me. Make sure he really thinks about it. I only want three of the five to be about me :). _Finn tried to read the rest of the email but Quinn quickly snatched it away when she saw his eyes wander away from the area she had specifically pointed out. He laughed and looked back down at his paper. He crossed off the bottom two _Rachel_s and began to really think about this.

* * *

Quinn watched Finn intently as he finished up the reasons not to go. They had been sitting at Breadstix for about 15 minutes. He hesitated before he moved onto the next paper. She suspected that this paper would be a bit more difficult. Rachel had told her the main concern she had and what Quinn was supposed to look for. As he began writing, she nibbled on a breadstick, trying to stay calm in case he was writing what Rachel suspected. If he was, they would have to move to "plan B." _Leave it to Rachel to have a plan B, _thought Quinn. She almost choked on her breadstick when Finn pulled his hand away and written almost word for word was Rachel's concern

_* Clear the Hudson name so it won't taint Rachel's star reputation by having it attached to her name. _

Quinn excused herself to go to the bathroom and told Finn and Puck she'd be right back. She practically raced to the bathroom and pushed send on her way. She had barely reached the bathroom when she heard Rachel's voice, "That's exactly what he wrote isn't it!"

Quinn laughed, "I must admit you know your fiancé quite well. Yeah that's exactly what he wrote. Do you want me to show him the video before or after he finishes?"

Rachel thought for a moment, "Wait until he finishes writing and you guys talk about it. When you get to the reasons to go, start from the bottom and work up. I want it to be the last thing that he hears."

Quinn smiled to herself before replying, "I'll do my best. Puck is still here so that may help."

They said their good-byes and Quinn walked back out to the boys. She hoped he would take this all well. When she got back to the table, she could see that Finn and Puck were eating and talking. They both went silent as she got closer. "Alright Finn did you finish it?" Finn nodded before returning back to his meal. "Awesome! My next instructions are to talk about the reasons." Finn's head snapped up and he looked to Puck as though he could save him from talking about it.

For once, Puck actually did. "Uh, Q, I don't think that is the best idea ever. I mean yeah he can talk about some but I don't think that you or Berry should force him to talk about them." Lucky for Quinn, Rachel had a "Plan C" already built in if Finn refused to talk.

"Okay fine, but we at least have to talk about the top two. Lucky for you, your fiancé knows so much about you she's built in like four alternate plans dependent on the type of mood you were in. Let's start with the top reason not to go."

Finn smiled faintly as he thought about what Quinn had just said. Rachel did know him perfectly and she always strived to help him know himself better. What wasn't to love about the fact that she not only made him want to be a better person but she knew just the right direction to push him in. He directed his attention back to Quinn who was talking about his number one reason not to go. Written on the paper it said: _Disappoint Rachel by not marrying her or going to New York with her/sending her there by herself._

The three of them talked about that and how that could be changed. Quinn took a deep breath as they dove into the reason to go. Finn was very hesitant to give her a reason why. It wasn't until Puck chimed in bringing up the fact that Rachel was changing her name to Hudson-Berry anyways so what should it matter that she found her opening.

"Finn, do you remember how Rachel sang My Man for you last night and no, I wasn't creeping on you, she told me about it." Finn slowly nodded and Quinn continued, "Do you remember what she said at the end?"

"Of course not, I fell asleep while she was singing." Finn was suddenly wishing that he hadn't been so tired because apparently she had said something important. Quinn pulled out her laptop and began clicking on things. Finn and Puck both looked at each other very confused especially when she pulled out one set of headphones. "I need you to watch, and listen to this, Finn. Rachel recorded herself singing it to you and she feels like this is something important that you need to hear."

Quinn and Puck both sat patiently waiting for Finn to finish listening to the song. Rachel had insisted that no one listen to it because it was meant for Finn's ears only and they all respected that decision. Judging by Finn's expression, they were guessing that it must be pretty touching. Especially when he broke down and started sobbing after he shut the screen. They both were completely frozen and had no idea what to do or say. Quinn pulled the next envelope out, replacing the computer with it near Finn's hand. She touched his shoulder before walking out, leaving Puck to deal with his crying friend.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Next chapter is up! Here is kind of Finn's point of view of what he felt when he heard Rachel's song. Hope you all enjoy!**_

* * *

Finn watched Quinn pull out her computer and felt his heart begin to race. _Leave it to Rachel to record her performance to use for future reference._ He had to admit, she was pretty exceptional. Quinn handed him the headphones and he quickly pushed play. He began listening to her sing and saw all the love he felt for her portrayed in her eyes. He could see the tears building up behind her eyes. It was not until he saw her hesitate that he knew her message was coming. He heard the words, "I love you Finn Hudson. I don't care if you never clear your father's name, I cannot wait until the day that I become Rachel Barbra Berry Hudson or in other words Mrs. Rachel Hudson," and with that he broke completely down. He began sobbing. All this time, he had been so set on fixing this so he wouldn't taint Rachel's name and star potential. When she told him she was going to change her name to Hudson-Berry, it had pretty much convinced him that this was why she didn't want to change it to that because of the recent information he had found out about his father's dishonorable discharge. And yet, she had just told him that she didn't care. She wanted to be a Hudson whether he cleared his father's name or not!

He felt someone touch his shoulder and looked up to see only Puck sitting there. Another letter was sitting near his hand where the laptop had been. He looked towards Puck who offered him a napkin to wipe his face before shrugging his shoulders. Finn slowly picked up the letter afraid of what he might find. He knew she had gone to so much work, but he honestly didn't want it to end.

_My dearest Finn,_

_I wanted so badly to tell you when you said you were going to Fort Benning to redeem your father that I didn't care what he had done, I just wanted to be with you! Your mom told me once that you and your father are so similar to each other. She sees so much of him in you. When you made it sound like you were joining the army, it scared me to death. I worried that the same things would happen to you. You are too special and too talented to have something like that happen. I know you feel like you have to go to Georgia to do this but I don't want you to go do this for me or to protect my name or whatever may be your reason. When I read my letter telling me that you weren't joining the army, I was so happy and relieved. I promise I will support you no matter your decision. I don't know if Burt will have any pull since he is in Congress, but if you think Georgia is the best option, then go._

_Don't stay away from me for too much longer, but I think this separation may be good for us. I mean ever since we both joined Glee club we've never really been separated from each other even though we broke up so much. Maybe this will be our way to find ourselves without the other one right there, I don't know. All I know is that I don't want to lose you, Finn. _

_You need to go back with whoever is there with you and they will take you back to the Choir Room for your very last surprise. I love you so much! –Yours Truly, Rachel_

Finn was up and running out the door before Puck could even finish the text he was composing. They both jumped in the truck and Puck hit the gas to get to the choir room as fast as he could.

* * *

Finn ran into the choir room to find Mr. Shue sitting at the desk against the wall. Mr. Shue looked up and smiled before asking, "Can I help you with something, Finn? You look a little lost." Finn was a little lost. He didn't understand why Mr. Shue was there during the summer. He looked at the letter again and saw that his instructions were to go to the choir room. Puck finally caught up and saw Finn reading the letter over and looking very confused. Mr. Shue turned to look at Puck and nodded. Puck pushed send on his phone and waited in the hallway.

* * *

Rachel was pacing back and forth around the room. "Amiga, you need to calm down. He'll be there soon just have patience." Santana and Kurt were both exhausted from watching Rachel walk the path around the front room of their apartment. They both laughed when her phone rang and she lunged for it, almost knocking down the vase of flowers they had just bought. She quickly read the text and ran to the bathroom to check her make-up. She positioned herself on the couch between her two new roomies and hit speed dial 5 to call Finn. She could barely contain her excitement until she realized that his phone went straight to voicemail. Her phone dropped out of her hand. Kurt quickly picked it up and texted Puck, telling him to get Finn's phone on. The plan had gone completely as planned besides the minor setback with Quinn but she had back-up plans for that. She never once thought that Finn's phone would either not be on or not be with him. She only saw the last portion as an epic fail…

* * *

_**I thought that the speed dial for Finn was pretty fitting since his football number was 5. Please let me know what you think of this chapter! :) I love reading your reviews!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**_This is the last chapter that talks about Rachel's surprise. Sorry if the whole thing has been a bit sappy for you, I've become quite the hopeless romantic when it comes to their relationship. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the song choice. Thanks for your reviews._**

* * *

"Honestly Mr. Shue, I don't know why I am here. Rachel wrote me this letter telling me to come to the choir room and I'd have surprise or something. Do you know what she is talking about?" Before Mr. Shue could answer with his rehearsed speak, Puck came running into the room.

"Dude, where's your phone? Mine just died and I need to text my mom to tell her I can't go pick up her take-out right now. Can I borrow yours for like a minute?"

Finn took it out of his pocket and handed it to Puck but not before he noticed that he had a missed call. He tried to take the phone back to see who it was from but Puck hurried and ran out of the room. He quickly sent Rachel a text to tell her it was on and then walked back in, making sure the volume on the phone was turned all the way up. As he placed the phone back in Finn's hand, Rachel's version of "Without You" began to play. Finn looked up at Puck with confusion and then quickly answered the phone.

"Hey, love! I'm here at the choir room and Mr. Shue has no idea what I am supposed to be doing here. Are you sure you meant to put the choir room? I can go somewhere else to get the last clue or whatever you need me to do."

"Finn, I need you to listen. Yes, I am sure it is supposed to be in the choir room. But I need you to actually look at your phone because I don't know if you noticed this was a Facetime call not a normal call." Finn quickly pulled the phone away from his ear to see her sitting between Santana and Kurt. "Ah there we go now I can see that handsome face I fell in love with." With that she gave him her award-winning smile. "Anyways what have you thought of your day?"

Finn gave her the smile that made her heart melt and chuckled, "Only you could find a song to fit with every letter. It has been amazing day so far. The only thing that would make it better would be if you were here telling me each of these things individually."

"Soon," she said as she winked at him. How he missed her. It felt weird being in the choir room without her. He was so wrapped up in her eyes that he didn't even notice everyone else come into the choir room until he heard Mr. Shue clear his throat. Finn looked up to see the chairs set out like they would be for any day of Glee Club rehearsal and them full with every member from Glee Club. He held up his phone for Rachel to see everyone smiling at them. "I couldn't have done this without any of them! They were all such a huge help! Even these two people sitting next to me have done so much and they're in New York with me," replied Rachel through the tears that were falling as she saw the love from all her friends.

Finn looked towards their friends and couldn't help but be so proud of the family they had all become. Even though half of them were graduating, he knew they would all still say very close. Almost every relationship still had the second half at McKinley High. The only ones that weren't were he and Rachel. Yes, some were going to California and others were in New York, but he knew they would make good use of technology to stay in touch. He knew that they had all been through too much together to not stay friends for life. They would all come to each wedding and be referred to as aunts or uncles for all the children born. Together, they had defied all the odds and become friends even though it seemed completely impossible as well as not a status norm.

Kurt broke the silence, "Alright Finn, we need you to sit on that stool in the middle of the room facing towards the rest of the club." Finn did as he was told and turned towards his friends. Kurt finished explaining, "Rachel wanted to do something special for the last part of this adventure. As I have been watching her write these letters and select songs, I knew the perfect songs and I hope that you can understand the deeper meaning of this song."

The strings began playing behind Finn, however, he didn't recognize the song.

_(Sam and Mercedes): Heart beats fast_

_Colors and promises_

_How to be brave_

_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall_

_But watching you stand alone_

_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow_

_One step closer_

_(Puck, Quinn, Sugar, Rory): I have died every day, waiting for you_

_Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you_

_For a thousand years._

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

_(Mike and Tina): Time stands still_

_Beauty in all she is_

_I will be brave, I will not let anything_

_Take away_

_What's standing in front of me_

_Every breath_

_Every hour has come to this_

_One step closer_

_(Brittney, Santana, Blaine, and Kurt): I have died every day, waiting for you_

_Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you _

_For a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

_(Rachel and Artie): And all along I believed, I would find you_

_Time has brought your heart to me_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

As Finn watched all his friends singing to him, he realized what Rachel was trying to say. He too had felt a connection the first time he kissed her. In fact that connection scared him because it was nothing he had ever felt with Quinn. The first time he told Rachel he loved her at Regionals their sophomore year, he knew that he would always love her no matter what. When she had kissed Puck when they were fighting, it had hurt so badly because he felt like that meant she didn't love him the way he loved her. He had been a complete jerk to her and yet she still came back to him when he definitely did not deserve her…

_(Joe): One step closer_

_One step closer_

_(Everyone): I have died every day, waiting for you_

_Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you _

_For a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

_(Rachel): And all along I believed, I would find you_

_Time has brought your heart to me_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

"I love you so much, Rachel Berry! This day has been so amazing and I can't thank you enough for opening my eyes. You truly are incredible and the main source of light in my life."

Rachel smiled at Finn and told him she'd call him later to talk about it but his job now was to go hang out with his friends since she had taken him away from all his big plans on his day off. _This day has been a better day off then I even could have imagined, _thought Finn. He would have been satisfied had the day ended right then, however, the boys had different plans.

* * *

Rachel hung up the phone and couldn't stop smiling. She felt as though her plan had been more successful than she ever could have imagined. She had to face the fact that she probably wouldn't be going back to Lima for a while, but she had hopefully convinced Finn not to go to Georgia because of her. She would support his decision to go to Georgia if that is what he still felt was the right decision and what he felt he needed to do. She, Kurt, and Santana decided that there was no point in sitting in the apartment for the rest of the day so they planned a shopping trip to pick out paint and decorations to begin making their apartment more personalized.

They were just getting dinner when her phone rang. She was a bit shocked when she saw that it wasn't Finn who was calling but her dads. She answered the phone a bit hesitantly. She hadn't talked to either of them since she found out that they weren't as supportive of her upcoming marriage as they had pretended to be.

"Hi, Dads."

"How is our star loving New York? Is it everything you imagined it to be?"

"Oh it's alright. Santana, Kurt, and I are shopping for apartment decorations right now so that is pretty fun. To what do I owe the privilege of having you call? I haven't heard from either of you since you left New York right after Santana and Kurt got here?" Rachel surprised herself with her boldness to ask such a question. She understood why her dads hesitated and she heard them whispering to each other.

"Rachel, dear, we wanted to tell you that we are coming to New York for your orientation and to see the new place. Orientation is next Monday and we figured we'd make it a week trip and hit some Broadway shows. We figure Kurt and Santana need to get back to Lima to their families and significant others so after orientation and everything we were thinking about making the trip then to Florida. A man that your Father and I work with has a time share right on the beach and we figure you need a nice, peaceful vacation and break before you begin the rest of your life. What do you say," asked LeRoy.

Rachel was completely speechless. She figured they were still supportive of her relationship with Finn but now she didn't know. She hadn't really planned on going back to Lima but the way they said it made her realize they didn't want her to be with Finn at all. She was crushed. Her dads had always been supportive of everything she did, except for now apparently one of the most important things to her.

"Umm, well I'd love to see you both but I was actually thinking about taking a few summer classes. Madame Tibideaux said that even though I have an amazing voice, she sees it only fair that I go through the remedial classes other people have to when they have their status changed. I mean I don't have to but I just feel like I owe it to her. I hope you both understand. The classes don't cost anything, it would just be one-on-one work with either her or another professor and you are always telling me to do everything I can to be on top so I don't think I can make it to Florida." It wasn't a complete lie. Madame Tibideaux had asked to meet with her to go over a few things but it wouldn't be the whole summer.

"That is great sweetie! I am so glad that you are already beginning to meet your star potential. We'll see you next Monday for orientation. We have some good news for you when we see you. Have fun shopping!" And with that the line went dead. Rachel hung up the phone and tried not to act like she was upset but of course Kurt knew her too well.

"Diva, who was that? Did Finn already do something to upset you?"

_Leave it to Kurt to know something is wrong. I'm going to have to get better at controlling my emotions if I want to make it as an actress. _"No, Kurt. I haven't talked to Finn yet. That was my dad. He said they are coming to New York next Monday and they think that you two need to get back to your significant others so they are wanting to take me to Florida because apparently my significant other isn't that important. They don't want me to go back to Lima to see him. I mean it's not like I was planning since there are acting classes and stuff going on but I thought they'd at least ask if I had talked to Finn or something. Apparently they have been lying my entire relationship with him and they never thought he was good enough for me." Rachel could feel the hot tears burning behind her eyes but she was too upset to cry.

Santana was the first to speak up, "Rach, we're not going anywhere. Actually I was going to tell you both, Brittney is going to try coming to New York soon. Her dad has meetings here so she is going to come with him and stay with us. She wasn't exactly sure when that would all go down but she said she'd let us know. I hope that is okay."

Rachel had to smile at how supportive both her roommates were of her. It was hard to believe that her and Santana had been complete enemies the year before. They had all come a long ways from the people they were to start their sophomore year at McKinley.

* * *

_**Song: Christina Perri's A Thousand Years. I wanted to include every member of the Glee Club in this song so I hope you all enjoyed it!**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**I decided that it couldn't be a story about Glee (Which I don't own) without drama! There will be more drama in the following chapters, this is just a sneak peak. I hope you all enjoy! I love hearing your feedback!**_

* * *

It had been a week since Rachel's plan had gone down. She and Finn talked every night. Even though it wasn't the same as being together, they knew it was for the best. Freshman orientation was the next day and she was telling Finn how nervous she was to meet her professors and classmates.

"What if I'm not as good as they are, Finn? I mean, I know I changed Madame Tibideaux's mind but you were the one that got me through it. Now you are in Lima packing to go to Georgia and I'm in New York. I'm so nervous I think I am going to be sick!"

Finn chuckled. As much as he loved her, sometimes her freak-out moments made no sense to him. Leave it to her to be nervous about freshman orientation. "Babe, you are amazing! I know you are nervous about it but you are mainly just getting classes and stuff so just be yourself and they will love you. Have you thought any more about what you're going to do for the summer since you told your dads that you couldn't go to Florida?"

Rachel had told Finn about her dads offer, but she hadn't told them that she didn't think they were that supportive of their relationship. Finn was everything to her and if she had to give up her relationship with her dads, then that was what she would have to do. She had been thinking about it all week and that was what she had decided. As she was talking to Finn, she heard a knock at the door. They had been waiting for their landlord to come check their oven because it wasn't cooking right. She was still talking to Finn when she opened the door and saw her dads standing in front of her. She was completely surprised because they had told her they'd be there early Monday morning, not Sunday. She stared at them and was brought back to reality by Finn saying her name.

"Rachel, sweetheart, are you still there? What is going on? I heard you open the door and you've been silent for a while. Is everything okay?"

"Umm, Finn, I'm going to have to call you back. My dads are here so I'll text you or something. I love you! Have a good Sunday." With that she hung up and stared at her dads. "What are you doing here? You said you weren't coming until tomorrow morning and you would meet me at the school rather than coming here first. Why didn't you call first or something?"

The smile on the faces of LeRoy and Hiram slowly faded as they could see the anger on their only daughter's face. They had wanted to surprise her and take her out, but they were as surprised to hear that she was on the phone with Finn as they were at her anger towards them. They were sure that things had ended when Rachel had come to New York because she had been so upset. Finn was a great guy, but Hiram and LeRoy Berry knew that their daughter could find someone better. They expected her to go to NYADA and find herself a Broadway hunk that would instantly sweep her off her feet and cause her to completely forget about Finn Hudson. They didn't understand this whole "true love" nonsense that she kept talking about. The reverse psychology idea hadn't worked out but they were so happy when Finn had come to them and told them his plan to set her free. The two Mr. Berry's had had a hard time containing their excitement as their daughter's fiancé cried about his plan. They had expected her to be so heartbroken that she would never want to talk to Finn Hudson again. They hadn't been the most supportive of Kurt and Santana moving in with her but at least she wouldn't be alone.

"Dads, I don't understand why you are here. I was talking to Finn and you both kind of interrupted my conversation." It was not like Rachel to be so snappy with them, but she was not happy to see them.

"Rachel, sweetie, we came early so we could tell you our good news. Don't you remember that we said we had good news for you that we'd tell you when we saw you? We wanted to come early so that we could split up the excitement over a few days rather than doing it all at once. Are you available for dinner tonight? We'd love to take you to Sardi's and take a walk through Central Park."

"Anywhere but Sardi's. I am not going there again without Finn. He promised when he came to New York we'd go back there. There is a good pizza place on the corner that has vegan food. Kurt definitely recommends it. Let me grab my coat and freshen up a bit in the bathroom and then we can head out." She didn't give them much chance to respond before she spun on her heel and headed for the bathroom. Once inside, she sat down in the shower area and called Finn. Even though she had just gotten off the phone with him ten minutes earlier, she needed to hear his voice.

"Hello? Is everything okay, my love? You sounded pretty upset when I let you go. What made your dads decide to come early?"

"I don't have any idea. They said something about a surprise for me. They wanted to take me to Sardi's which makes me upset because they know that restaurant is special for you and I. When I told them that I didn't want to go there with them, they got all upset. I do not want to go out with them tonight but what choice do I have? Any advice for me?"

Finn couldn't help but wish he was there to hold her hand through this difficult time she was having, "Rach, I think you need to be honest with them. I think you need to tell them exactly how you feel. Tell them exactly why you don't want to go to Florida and when they give you this surprise or whatever, don't pretend to like it. They may have lied to us about being supportive of our marriage, but I don't think we should act like that. We are going to continue to build our relationship on trust. Do you think that we need to sit down with all the parents and talk to them about this before it turns into an even bigger mess? Burt gets home from Washington tonight and was planning to call Kurt so why don't we just sit down with them and talk to them about their reasons for not being supportive. I think it will make our relationship easier."

Rachel had to admit that sounded like something they needed to do but she wasn't sure she could wait until then to talk to her dads about this problem. "You always know exactly what to say to me when I'm freaking completely out. Alright, well text me when your side of the line is ready to have this discussion. I better go, they've been waiting for me for quite some time. Thanks, Finn. Bye!"

Rachel walked down the stairs to see her dad and daddy looking at the pictures which decorated their apartment. Most of them were Glee Club pictures since all three of them spent their high school careers in the club together. They had pictures of the Cheerios for Santana and a picture of them all together with their significant others. She quickly sent Santana and Kurt a text saying she'd be back later and told them she was ready to go. She just wanted to get this day over with…


	19. Chapter 19

_**This is a drama filled chapter. I hope you all enjoy. Please leave your reviews for me! **_

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After they ordered their pizza and were seated, LeRoy finally broke the silence, "I can't contain my excitement anymore. Rachel, we were talking to a woman we work with and she was telling us that her granddaughter is coming up here to work before applying to Juliard. She doesn't know anyone in the city so we told her that you had extra room. Mandy will be moving in next month to share a room with you. We saw how big your room is and we figure you don't need all that room for yourself. This way the four of you can split rent and utilities. It will be great!"

Rachel felt her mouth fall open as she stared at her dads in disbelief. She knew that Finn wanted her to wait but she couldn't help stop the words and the tears from coming, "No! She is not moving into my apartment! That extra room in my room is for Finn when we get married not for some girl named Mandy! It was all planned out when we rented it. I know you don't understand and that you for some reason hate Finn and don't want me to marry him but I will marry him whether the two of you like it or not! You don't have to come to my wedding or support me! I can't believe the two of you would agree to this without even talking to me about it first. You don't think that I should, you know, talk to my roommates to see if they approved before some other girl moves in. I can't believe it!" With that she stood up, throwing her napkin on the table. "You know what, don't bother coming to orientation tomorrow. You can come to my apartment tonight around 5:00 to have a talk with Finn and his parents but after that I don't want you in my life until you can be supportive of my decisions. Oh, and you better call Mandy and tell her to find a new apartment because ours is not available." She turned on her heel and walked away with her head held high. As soon as she knew she was out of sight, she ran the rest of the way to her apartment.

* * *

Finn walked into the kitchen to find his mom washing lettuce for dinner. He was nervous to ask her but he felt like he needed to know where she stood before they had their "talk" with Burt and the Berrys. "Mom, can I talk to you for a minute about something very important. I need you to be brutally honest with me."

Carole looked up from the sink and met her son's eyes. She knew that look well. She wiped her hands on the towel that was sitting on the counter and gestured him towards the big leather couch. As they sat down, she turned so she could read his expression. "What do you want to talk about, honey? I am all yours." When Finn hesitated, Carole guessed what it was he wanted to talk about, "This has to do with Rachel doesn't it?"

Finn looked up at his mom and nodded his head, "Mom, I need to know. Were you as against our wedding as her dads were? I guess I just don't understand why you all acted so supportive of our decision. You love Rachel don't you?" Finn watched his mom, hoping she wouldn't turn away from him. He had learned over the years that when his mom turned away, it meant she was searching for a way to deliver her message in a way that wouldn't hurt him.

Carole met his eyes and smiled faintly, "Finn, I absolutely love and adore Rachel. She is so good to you and Kurt. She is the daughter I've never had and I can't wait until the day she officially becomes my daughter. I am not the biggest fan of you getting married at 18 but if that is what the two of you think is best, then I will completely support your decision. I want to be at your wedding, I don't want you to elope or go behind my back to do it. I see the way that you look at her and I know for a fact that the two of you love each other so much! LeRoy and Hiram, they, well umm they don't understand true love. They always imagined Rachel going to Broadway and living the dream that they have set in her mind. They think that by her marrying you, she will have to give up that dream. That is the whole reason you set her free, so she wouldn't have to give up those dreams, isn't it?"

Finn watched his mom and realized that she did support him. He nodded his head to answer her question, "Burt thinks we're insane doesn't he?" Carole nodded in response. Finn continued, "Mom, I love Rachel more than life itself. She has made me the man that I am today. I understand why they don't want us to get married at 18, but would they rather that we lived together? I thought I was being very responsible by asking her to marry me. I want to be with her forever; I want her to be the mother of my children. I want her to achieve her dreams more than anything. Did you know about the adventure she sent me on?"

Carole smiled at her son, "Yes I knew about it. Kurt called here to make sure that Idid not let you do anything on your day off. He told me a little bit about what she was doing, but he didn't give me very many details. I know how happy you were when you came back and you spend a lot of your time talking to her on the phone. You're still planning on marrying her aren't you? I don't remember her giving you the ring back."

Finn chuckled, "Yes, mom, we're still getting married. She actually told me that she's not taking the ring off whether I want her to or not. She's got a definite stubborn streak in her!" Finn's expression sobered, "Mom, thanks for being supportive of us. You have no idea how much it means for me to hear that. Rachel and I think that it will be best for us to all talk about the reasons for not being supportive and the lies and everything. Her dads are in New York so after Kurt and Burt finish their video conversation, we're going to all talk. I hope that is okay."  
Carole nodded and hugged her son, "I love you, Finn. I am so proud of the man you are becoming." Finn squeezed his mom and heard his phone ring in the other room.

"I better go get that. It might be Puck, I told him I'd help him fix some hot tub before I head over to the shop to make sure everything is closed up right. Thanks again Mom. Will you tell Burt what will be going on so it's not a complete shock to him?" Once he got a yes from his mom, he walked into the kitchen and saw that he had a few new messages as well as a missed call. The missed call was from Puck so he quickly called him back and told him he was ready to be picked up. There were three texts: one from Puck telling him the tools he needed, one from Rachel, and one from Kurt. He read the one from Kurt and instantly felt sick:

**Finn, Rachel just got back from lunch with her dads and she is a freaking mess. You need to call her or reply to her message. She feels so unloved right now she doesn't know what to do. I'm trying to comfort her but I can only do so much for her. She needs you. –Kurt**

The message from Rachel made his heart instantly break: **I freaked out on my dads. They tried to get a roommate for me to take the extra space that is in my room. Can you please, PLEASE do your research on your dad here in New York? We can convert the corner into an office space. I NEED YOU HERE WITH ME, FINN! I can't do this without you!**

He heard Puck honk his horn and he grabbed his tool box and ran. Once he was in the car, he quickly texted Rachel back. His reply was simple and he knew she wouldn't understand it right now, but he had to figure out his plan: **Soon babe, I will be there real soon. I PROMISE!**

* * *

5:00 came way too fast for Rachel. She knew that her blow-up at her dads had probably not been the best idea but she was so frustrated. She expected them to yell at her and tell her how disappointed they were with her when they got to her apartment. She heard a knock at the door and watched as Santana walked across the room to answer the door and let the Berrys in. Hiram and LeRoy thanked her and silently walked to the couch. They greeted their daughter with a kiss on the cheek but nothing more was said. Kurt came walking out of his bedroom carrying his computer. He handed it to Rachel and gave her a small smile. She moved to sit between her dad and daddy and waited while the other party gathered. She saw Finn look at her and she could see the concern in his eyes. She shrugged her shoulders and mouthed something to him so her dads couldn't see. He smiled and waited for Burt and Carole to have a seat on either side of them. Rachel had asked Santana and Kurt to hang out in the kitchen just in case something went wrong. At first they had been reluctant, but they agreed to stay. Santana had her computer out and was chatting with Brittney. Kurt was texting Blaine and trying hard not to listen to the conversation that was going on in the room next to him.

Finn thanked everyone for taking the time to have this conversation. He was watching Rachel to check her emotions which was a lot harder to do over a camera than when he was sitting right next to her. He figured he might as well cut to the chase and get it over with, "Rachel and I would like to know exactly why you lied to us and told us you supported the wedding." He watched LeRoy and Hiram's facial expression change from boredom to complete shock and he felt Burt tense up next to him. He looked towards his mom and she urged him on. "Yes, getting married at 18 is probably not the smartest thing to do but we want to know why you couldn't have just told us that rather than lying and pretending you were happy for us. We're still planning on getting married so we need to lay it all out on the table while we can. If you have a problem with me or the way I treat your daughter, Mr. and Mr. Berry, please let me know now."

He watched Rachel's head snap up and look towards both her dads. They looked at each other and Hiram cleared his throat, "Finn, I'll be completely honest with you. LeRoy and I were so happy when you came to us and told us that you were setting our baby free to pursue her dreams. You are a great guy Finn, but we just don't think that you are good enough for our Rachel. She deserves someone who shares her dreams of Broadway and can keep up with her star potential and we just…" Before he could finish Rachel stood up and took the computer away from him. She looked as though she was ready to punch something or someone.

"How dare you tell my fiancé that he isn't good enough for me! I make that decision, not the two of you! My entire life I have always done exactly what you said. I've gone to dance lessons and voice lessons and acting lessons so that I could make it to Broadway to live out your dream for me! Well maybe my priorities have changed. Maybe I realized that there is more to life than fame. I love Finn more than anything in this world, more than performing on a stage in front of a full audience. Finn balances me out. I cannot even imagine if I married someone who was exactly like me. I can guarantee that it would not work out because I wouldn't be able to handle being married to someone just like me. If you two can't support my decision to marry Finn and become Rachel Hudson then get out of my apartment now! I don't ever want to see or talk to either of you again. Honestly it makes me wonder how much more of my life has been a lie that the two of you were telling me." Rachel looked down at the computer screen to see Finn, Burt, and Carole staring at her with their mouths open wide. Kurt and Santana were both standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room staring at her. LeRoy and Hiram looked as though they wanted to cry. They both stood up and walked out the door.


	20. Chapter 20

_**I hope you all enjoyed that last chapter. I was kind of worried about making Hiram and LeRoy out to be the bad guys but I couldn't help but feel like they've kind of been manipulating Rachel into doing everything they wanted her to do her whole life. Something way exciting is going to be happening in the next few chapters. I hope you enjoy! Please leave your reviews**_

* * *

Finn braced himself as he heard Hiram clear his throat. He figured what they were going to say would probably upset him but he never expected them to tell him that he didn't deserve to marry their daughter. This was one of his fears as it was and they both knew that. When he had gone to tell them he was setting her free, LeRoy had asked him why. Finn had told him that he didn't want to stand in the way of her dreams. They had both seemed satisfied with his answer but he didn't realize that they were actually very excited that he was doing this. He felt his mom's hand on his shoulder and watched helplessly as Rachel's expression suddenly grow dark. He saw her lunge for the computer and for a while the world before them was shaking uncontrollably. As she began screaming at her dads, he watched with amazement. He had seen Rachel get upset, but nothing like this. He had to admit it was kind of hot to hear the way she defended him, even though it should usually be the other way around. He couldn't help but be proud of her for standing up for herself. He could see Kurt and Santana watching from the kitchen. He was too far away but for a moment he was sure Santana had a proud look on her face, as though she had coached Rachel through this process. As he heard Rachel tell her dads to leave and never come back if they didn't support her, he held his breath. He silently prayed that they wouldn't get up and leave, that they would try to work it out or at least pretend they were supportive so they wouldn't lose their little girl. As he watched them get up to leave, he caught Kurt's eye. He nodded to Kurt who immediately rushed to her side as soon as the door closed. He barely caught the computer before Rachel fell to the ground and began sobbing. Finn's heart broke and he wished that it was him holding her, not his brother. He looked up and saw that his mom was crying and Burt looked ready to hurt someone. When Burt finally responded, he surprised Finn.

"Finn, son, I want you to know that I will support your decision to marry Rachel. I was stubborn and I didn't want you to make such a decision so soon, but I cannot believe the Berrys would do that to her. I have some miles saved up on my frequent flyer card. I want you to go pack a bag. You're going to New York; she needs you more than we need you right now. I don't have to be back in D.C for another two weeks and I'll just have Sam pick up a few more shifts until you can get home." Finn smiled, hugged both parents and ran up to pack a suitcase. Luckily he had already started packing as part of his plan. He was going to try to get a flight for after her dads left but he knew she needed him now. Once he was packed, his mom handed him an envelope with his ticket, some money, Rachel's address, and something for him to read on the plane. He hugged her tightly and ran out the door since his flight left in a two hours and he had to get through security. He contemplated telling Kurt, but decided he wanted to surprise her.

* * *

Rachel was completely devastated. Yes, she felt bad about yelling at her dads but she couldn't believe that they would just walk out on her. She felt so unwanted and so unloved at the moment. She had tried to call Finn, but his phone was turned off and he wasn't responding to any of her texts which made her even more upset. She looked at the clock. It was almost 10:00 p.m. and orientation started tomorrow at 8:00. She was emotionally exhausted and she didn't want her soon-to-be professors to think she wasn't prepared for the rigors of NYADA. She told Santana and Kurt she was going to get ready for bed. They agreed that it had been a very long day and each went to their bathrooms to get ready. Rachel had just finished putting on her pajamas when she heard a knock at the door. Figuring it was her dads, she called for Santana or Kurt to get it. Kurt had just gotten out of the shower and Santana was "too busy" to answer the door. Rachel figured she was video chatting with Brittney. To prove her point, Rachel stormed out of her room, stomping her feet loudly. "Fine! I always have to do everything. What are you two going to do when I…" She had opened the door while still yelling at her roommates. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped. She didn't dare move for fear it was just a dream and her imagination. "Finn," she whispered and saw him give her his crooked smile. "Hi," he replied softly.

Kurt and Santana had come running when they heard her stop yelling. She was frozen, standing next to the door. Assuming it was Mr. and Mr. Berry, Santana came to the rescue, "You know Mr. Berry, you have a lot of nerve coming back to our apartment like this after the way you treated my girl here. I suggest you…O my gosh! Finn Hudson! What are you doing here, in New York of all places?"

Kurt ran to the door and leapt at his brother. "I can't believe you're here! Wait how long have you had this trip planned? I just talked to Carole and dad and they didn't say anything about it."

Finn chuckled, "Actually after the little incident that happened a few hours ago, Burt got me a flight and told me that I needed to be here more than I needed to be home. So I've had this trip planned since about 5:30." He handed Kurt his bag and in one swift motion had Rachel in his arms. He felt as though he was finally complete as he held her in his arms. He could feel her begin to tremble and knew she was breaking down. "Shhh, babe, don't cry. It is alright, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere for a week or so," he whispered to her as she began to sob. He kissed her gently on the head and kicked the door closed behind him as he finally came in. He carried her to the couch and dropped onto it as he held her in his arms. It was the same way he had held her after she had choked at her big audition. He let her cry and held her until he heard the whimpering become silent. The only word she had said since he got there was his name. She looked up at him and he moved he took her cheeks in his hand, rubbing away the tears. She smiled softly at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you Mr. Hudson. I was worried sick because I have tried calling you and texting you for the past few hours and you never responded. I was afraid you and Puck had gone out driving and were in the hospital or something. I can't believe that you would drop everything to come all the way to New York just to be with me because my dads are such jerks. I know you probably have better things to do than listen to my crying all the time and…" She was cut short by him pressing his lips to hers. It was one of the only ways he knew how to silence her when she went on her rants about things. She smiled under the kiss and pulled away, savoring his taste on her lips, "You have no idea how much I have missed you." He smiled in reply and gave her another quick kiss.

Looking at the clock, she realized it was almost 10:30 and she had to get up for orientation in a few hours. She took Finn's hand to guide him into the bedroom they would share. Kurt had placed Finn's bag on the bed right before he had went into his own room for the night. "Finn, I'm sure you're exhausted but I was wondering, since my dads aren't here to go to orientation with me, would you go with me? I'm so scared to go by myself. If you'd rather sleep in that's fine. It starts at nine."

"Rachel, I'd love to go with you. I came here to help you through anything you needed so of course I'll go to orientation and hold your hand the entire time." As he spoke, he took her left hand in his and began playing with her engagement ring. "You know," he muttered, "I think we need to set a date to put another band on this one. We'll talk about it tomorrow after you are registered for classes and have a better idea of what all will be happening the next few months. My research is kind of, umm, at a stand-still right now so I'm pretty much opened for anything."

Rachel could hardly contain her excitement. She kissed him quickly on the lips and hugged him tightly. She declared that she was past the point of exhaustion and needed to go to bed. Finn wanted to take a shower first so she showed him around. He had to smile when he saw his favorite shampoo and conditioner already sitting in the shower. On the counter, was everything he would need to get ready in the morning, all things he had forgotten as he had rushed out the door. He looked at Rachel with a quizzical look. She shrugged her shoulders and answers him as though it was really no big deal, "I figured you'd need it once you go here so when we were out shopping I bought it. I didn't expect to see you so soon but it made the separation more bearable to see tangible items you would put in here once you got here." With that she kissed him goodnight and left him to shower. _I love her so much words cannot describe it, _thought Finn. He felt like the luckiest man on the earth.

Once he was ready for bed, he walked out of the room to see the lamp softly glowing. Rachel was curled up in a ball leaving him enough room to sleep next to her. She looked so beautiful as she slept in the soft light. He couldn't help but notice the soft smile that was gracing her gorgeous face. He climbed into bed beside her, kissed her cheek and wrapped his arms around her. He felt her adjust to him and he couldn't help but picture himself falling asleep like this for the rest of his life.


	21. Chapter 21

_**So I am taking a different twist on this chapter than I was originally planning. I hope you enjoy it. Please let e know if you like it or think I should change the chapter. I had a few ideas for this one. So many of you enjoy this story I want to make it just right!**_

* * *

Rachel awoke to her alarm clock playing music. She heard Finn moan and pull her closer to his body. She giggled and tried to get out of bed to turn it off but he wouldn't let her go. "Finn, I have to get up and turn the alarm off before Santana wakes up or she'll go all Lima Heights crazy on me. Plus I need to get ready for orientation." He moaned loudly and released her. She smiled, kissed his head, and jumped off the bed to hit the alarm. She quickly showered and wrapped her dark, wet hair in a towel before going out into the kitchen to make Finn breakfast. Lucky for her, Santana had bought bacon to cook the next morning even though she knew she couldn't eat the entire package herself. Rachel cut up some potatoes and put the bacon on to cook. She hoped that the smells would awaken her three roommates so that they would be able to eat the food while it was still warm. She cut up some fruit and set it on the table along with plates and cups. She was just finishing the coffee when she heard someone come into the room. She turned around and saw Kurt smiling and shaking his head at her.

"My dopey brother shows up and suddenly you have an urge to cook. I could definitely get used to this. It smells so good," he replied as he grabbed a piece of bacon and quickly put it in his mouth before she could stop him.

"Kurt, wait for everyone else to wake up! This has nothing to do with Finn coming. I just am so nervous for orientation that I decided to cook something." He looked at her as though he knew it was a complete lie. Before he could say anything they heard someone else come into the room. They both turned to see a sleepy Finn and confused Santana standing in the doorway.

"Amiga, did you actually cook that bacon? This is the first time since we've been here that you have made something all of us want to eat." Santana turned to Finn and patted him on the stomach, "I think you should have come earlier, I'm beginning to like this Rachel we are seeing." She walked towards the table and began dishing her plate.

Finn walked towards the table but rather than sitting down, he walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his fiancé and kissed the top of her head. "Good-morning beautiful. Did you sleep well?"

Rachel turned herself in his arms and looked into his tired eyes, "I slept great! But you know you don't have to be up yet. Orientation isn't for another hour and a half so if you want you can go back to sleep and I'll be sure to save you some breakfast." She looked over her shoulder to see Santana and Kurt enjoying their breakfast.

Finn laughed, "I couldn't go back to sleep after you got out of bed and I am actually starving so let's eat while it's still warm." He quickly pecked her lips before taking her hand and leading her to the table. Rachel had to keep reminding herself that this was not a dream; Finn really was actually sitting in her kitchen eating the food she had cooked. She was startled when Santana spoke up.

"Alright you two lovers, let us set down some ground rules for this apartment. There will be no awkward 'Finchel' make-out sessions in my presence. I think Kurt and I both deserve a break from those since once you two get married we'll be dealing with it all the time. Finn, I expect you to put in your equal share around here and help us finish fixing things since you are such a handy man. Also, no mushy duets, I am pretty sure I have heard enough of the two of you singing together to last me a freaking lifetime. Any questions?"

Rachel looked up at Finn to see the twinkle in his eyes. She knew that mischievous look and she knew what was going to happen. Before she could stop it, she felt Finn's lips come crashing down on hers, bringing passion into their kiss. She tried not to laugh but couldn't help it when she heard Santana begin making gagging sounds. Rachel pulled away and wrinkled her nose, "Finn, Your lips taste like bacon!" He laughed loudly and grabbed another piece of bacon.

Kurt couldn't help but smile at how the two of them were acting. He felt like they were both finally happy, as happy as he had seen either of them since Finn had put her on that train. He looked at Santana and saw her smiling as Finn chased Rachel to the bedroom, trying to plant another bacon tasting kiss on her lips. "They are so happy, aren't they Santana. Can you imagine how miserable they would both be if they hadn't ended up together?"

Santana laughed, "Well, for one, the rest of us would not have to deal with any of their gross PDAs, but I can't even imagine him still being with Q. I mean, I love her, but he was pretty miserable even if he didn't realize it. Quinn didn't really care about him like Rachel does. By the way, Brittney told me that she saw Quinn and Puck together. Do you think she'll give up on Joe and go back to Puck?"

_Leave it to Santana to change the subject to involve something with gossip_, thought Kurt. "It wouldn't surprise me. I mean her and Puck were good together and I think that he really loved her. They've both been through a lot together so it wouldn't surprise me. I can't see her fascination with Joe being anything besides the fact that he acted interested in her. Joe is attractive but I can't help but worry what may be growing in his hair. Dreads are so dang gross!"

"Agreed! And the whole Christian thing went way too far I think. But ya know if Quinn is into a guy who never wears shoes then that's her problem."

Rachel and Finn were standing around the corner with their hands over their mouths listening to the conversation that was playing out around the kitchen table. Never in a million years did they ever imagine Kurt Hummel and Santana Lopez to be discussing who Quinn Fabrey should be dating. So much had changed over the past three years.

At 8:30, Rachel and Finn left the apartment to make the 15 minute walk to the campus. When they arrived, Finn felt Rachel's hand tighten in his. He had to laugh as he saw how nervous she was becoming. "It's going to be fine, baby doll. You are a star and you are just starting to shine," he whispered close to her ear. "Plus I am right here beside you to hold your hand through it all."

Rachel felt the knots in her stomach begin to loosen. She looked up at Finn and smiled. She was so grateful to have him beside her. She knew that if her dads had been there they would have tried pushing her to do things that she wasn't completely comfortable with. Knowing what she knows now, they probably would have tried to push her to flirt with all the guys in her group. As much as it hurt her to know they weren't a part of her life right now, she was relieved that she finally knew the truth about their feelings towards her relationship with Finn.

They arrived at the registration table and she told them her name. The girl handed her the papers she needed and looked up at the couple. "Oh my, so you are Rachel Berry. And this must be Finn Hudson." Rachel looked at Finn who looked at the lady in confusion.

"Umm, yeah we are. Can I ask how you know who we are? I mean I understand why you would know Rachel, but me?" Finn asked the lady whose name tag said "Julia"

"Oh I am a fan of the two of you! I was part of a show choir that competed at Nationals here last year. The song the two of you sang to each other was so beautiful and that kiss was so amazing! When I saw that Rachel had been accepted here, I couldn't wait to meet her. I never imagined that I would meet both of you! I am such a huge fan," Julia stopped to catch her breath. Finn had to laugh. That was definitely something Rachel would do whenever she got really excited about something. "Sorry sometimes I get too excited that I forget to breath."

Rachel smiled her brightest smile and extended Julia the hand that Finn wasn't holding, "It is a pleasure to meet you Julia."

Julia took her hand and looked down, "Oh, your ring is beautiful! Wait, the two of you are getting married? That is so exciting. Mandi, can you come over here for a moment! It's Rachel and Finn. Remember from Nationals last year." The girl named Mandi came walking over and smiled at the couple.

"Hi, I'm Mandi. Rachel, I just have to say that you have a remarkable voice!" Finn looked down at his fiancé and smile. Here she had been so worried that no one would know her and it seemed that she was already loved by some of her fellow peers. He turned his attention back to the girls who were excitedly talking about what classes she should take and the activities that were offered which would look good on her future resume. Their conversation then turned to Finn.

"So Mandi and I would love to hear about how you met and everything. Could we maybe meet up this evening for dinner? We've been dying to try out Sardi's. I mean we've been here for a whole year and we haven't even tried it out yet. We'll bring our boyfriends if you two are up for it. We'll make it a triple date."

Rachel had hoped she'd be able to go to Sardi's with just Finn but she was so happy to be making friends she didn't dare say no. "What do you say, Finn? Do you think you'd like to try out Sardi's?" She winked and squeezed his arm.

"Yeah it sounds like something I'd like to try out. I mean I've heard the food is pretty amazing and who knows, you may just meet someone like Patti LuPone there." Finn smiled as the girls looked towards Rachel in confusion and she just smiled.

"We'll explain tonight. Meet us at Sardi's tonight around 7. We can't wait to see you." Rachel took Finn's hand and walked towards an empty bench. They sat down and he looked into her deep brown eyes. He could tell that she was upset about something, "Love, let's go home. You're all registered for classes and ready to roll. We can talk on the way home if you want or wait, but you are going to tell me what is wrong. I don't want anything to bother you while I'm here okay?" Rachel smiled and looped her arm through his. Once they were off the campus she began to speak.

"It's just weird to me that they knew who we were. I mean I know that our video had 20,000 views soon after but they knew a whole lot about us. Don't you find it kind of weird how much they admired us. They went on forever about how cute that song was and now they want to know about our relationship. I guess it just makes me nervous to be here in New York with people who know so much about me"

Finn nodded in agreement. It was quite strange that the two girls were huge fans not just of Rachel's but of their relationship. He wanted to answer but he got a phone call. He looked down and felt his stomach drop. He didn't want to answer, but he knew he had to. "Detective Jones, it is nice to hear from you again."

"Finn, I need to meet with you immediately. Your mom said you were in New York. I'm catching the earliest flight I can. Will you meet me for breakfast tomorrow morning? I can meet you wherever."

"Yeah that will be great. Meet me at my apartment around 10." Finn recited the address to the man and hung up. Rachel wanted to question why he had given their address to a detective but by the look on his face, she didn't want to pressure him into talking about it. She tightened her grip on his hand. He let go and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. _I can get through this, _he thought,_ because she will be with me holding my hand the entire time._

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_**So do you like Julia and Mandi? Please leave your opinions in the reviews! I'd really appreciate it! I changed them a bit so that they weren't so crazy sounding.**  
_


	22. Chapter 22

_**Alright my readers, thank-you for being patient with me. I've had a bit of writers block trying to figure out how to write the Sardi's date to explain Julia and Mandi. I did a few updates to the last chapter to make them not sound so crazy so you may want to go back and reread that chapter so it makes a bit more sense. Thanks for reading my story and leaving your reviews and comments. Please let me know if you like this chapter!**_

Finn and Rachel arrived at Sardi's a few minutes early. Finn was grateful he had remembered his promise to Rachel and packed a suit for the occasion. They were seated at a table for six and waited for the others to arrive.

Finn looked over to see Rachel playing with her ring. This was something she did whenever she was either nervous or bored. "Sweetheart, are you nervous?" Before she could answer, Mandi and Julia were walking in with their dates.

"Rachel, Finn, hi! This is my boyfriend James and Mandi's boyfriend Austin," exclaimed Julia. Rachel and Finn rose to shake the hands of James and Austin. The boys didn't seem as enthusiastic about this date as their girlfriends did. James looked as though he would rather be home sleeping and Austin kept staring at Mandi like she owed him something for giving up his night to come with her. After they were all seated and had ordered, Julia broke the awkwardness. "So let's have it. We want to hear exactly who you met and your story."

Rachel smiled and took Finn's hand under the table, "First of all, I have a question to ask you two. Why are you so interested in our story? I mean, it is a pretty epic story but why are you such huge fans of ours?"

The smiles from the faces of Julia and Mandi disappeared. They looked towards each other. Mandi cleared her throat, "Well you see Julia and I met when we both auditioned for our school's glee club. I must say that our glee club was horrible from the beginning and we didn't even make it past sectionals the first two years. Our coach wanted us to see what it looked like for a real team to perform so we took the trip to your regionals competition to watch Jesse St. James's team perform.

"When we watched the two of you perform "Faithfully" we decided right then and there that we wanted a love like the two of you had for each other. Your eyes told the most remarkable story and we both decided that we wanted to find a guy that looked at us the way that Finn looked at you, Rachel. At the time we didn't know who you two were. When we found out that your team had made it to Nationals, we were so excited to see the two of you perform together again. However, we were kind of confused because your song was talking about pretending yet the way you looked at each other was exactly the same."

Julia cut in, "The kiss at the end was so amazing. We could feel the passion from where we were sitting. We tried to find out who the two of you were so we could talk to you and tell you how much we admired your song but when you didn't make the top 10 we couldn't find you. We then saw the youtube video of your song and kiss and your names were on the bottom of it. That's how we knew who you were. I guess we kind of scared you when we knew exactly who you were. It's just we have been huge fans of the two of yours since we saw you perform at Regionals two years ago. The two of you inspired us to become better. Something that New Directions does that most show choirs don't do is sing with passion. We're sorry we went completely crazy on you back there, it's just we've been dying to hear about your relationship for the longest time. When Madame Tibideaux came into the admissions office where we both work and informed us that you had been accepted, we were so excited to finally get to meet you. Never in a million years did we expect to meet both of you."

Finn had to stop his mouth from falling open. These girls didn't just admire Rachel for her talent, but for her passion. Rachel seemed as surprised as he did when she responded with a short thanks before asking them more about themselves. He had to agree with Rachel, he wanted to steer the attention away from themselves for a bit. She got them talking about their show choir, how they met Austin and James, and their first year at NYADA. It was only a matter of time before their attention was turned back to Finn and Rachel.

Rachel started by telling about what she first thought of Finn when he joined glee club. They talked about Quinn's pregnancy, Jesse's appearance, and the break-up. Finn interjected when necessary but for the most part he let Rachel talk. When she got to Junior prom, it was his turn to take over. He told about when Rachel sang Jar of Hearts and how after Jean's funeral, he just knew he was meant to be with her rather than with Quinn. He paused and pretended to look around, "Rach, do you see Ms. LaPone anywhere? I'd love to see her again." He smirked as he watched Mandi, Austin, Jame and Julia all stare towards Rachel and him in disbelief.

"You…You two actually met Patti LaPone? When? Where?" Austin stuttered in disbelief.

Rachel laughed, "Well you see when we came to Nationals last year, Finn decided that he wanted me back. Our friends Puck, Sam, Mike, and Artie helped him plan a quote big awful date to take me on. I don't know if you remember but we wrote original songs for Nationals last year. Finn tricked me into going on this date by telling me it was strictly a work date." She laughed out loud when Finn nudged her with his elbow and gave her a pouty face. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and continued her story, "So I met him at Bow Bridge in Central Park and he brought me here to Sardi's. Ms. LaPone was here and we actually got to meet her. She told me that Finn was kind of cute which I have to agree 100 percent. Anyways we ended up going on a walk and he tried to kiss me but I told him I couldn't. He asked me to take a chance on him but I ran away.

"Well long story short, he wrote that amazing duet for us to sing explaining exactly how he felt. I guess maybe we should back up to Regionals. Do you want to tell them about the song I wrote for you, Finn?"

"Oh that song, how could I forget. Well Quinn and I had just gotten back together for reasons I really can't explain. Anyways, Rachel wrote a song called "Get it Right" which pretty much made me feel like the world's biggest jerk for making her feel like that. It explained exactly how she felt and she sang it so beautifully! So I wrote "Pretending" to explain how I felt about our relationship. The kiss wasn't meant to happen, but she had told me backstage that she didn't want anything getting in the way of her dream and I felt like it would be the last time I had to kiss her. So I went for it and we ended up losing Nationals that year but I ended up winning the girl over."

Rachel smiled and began tracing circle on his arm as she continued, "So we dated all through the summer and school started. I had a few diva moments and Finn set me straight. Finn had a few moments of self-doubt and I carried him through. He found out information about his dad that really rocked his entire world. We got through it together and he asked me to marry him. At first I was extremely hesitant; I mean we're only 18. Then he sang "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" to me and I knew that we were meant to be together forever. We had a rough spell there for a while and we actually had our wedding fall through twice, but we're still planning on getting married soon! Right now, however, Finn is just visiting. He is going to Georgia for a little while before he makes his stay in New York permanent."

Mandi's head snapped up, "Rachel do you have someone to live with? I know how scary it can be to live in the big city all alone. Jules and I could share a room and you could move in with us."

Rachel shook her head, "Thank-you but I actually already have a place with my friends Santana and Kurt. The place is big enough for all of us and Finn when he comes back. It really is the perfect place for all of us to live."

Mandi nodded, but Finn couldn't help but notice she was disappointed. James finally spoke up, "Hey, Finn. You said you were a super cool jock in high school right? How did being in Glee Club affect your rep? I mean at my school if you were in Glee Club you never even got a chance to do any type of sports. You were the Quarterback and you were Prom King and Prom Queen. Your school must have been awesome!"

Finn and Rachel looked at each other before laughing. "O no man, our school sucked when it came to the "Glee Losers" as we were called. We would get slushied constantly but our club was a very unique situation. I got blackmailed into joining when Mr. Shue, our teacher, heard me singing." He laughed when he saw Rachel give him a strange look. He knew he'd have some explaining to do. "See, I was singing in the shower after football practice one day and Mr. Shue came in to get the sign-up sheet which had no one's name on it. I didn't realize anyone was here so I was singing and he decided it was exactly what the club needed. How did he put it, 'A male lead that could keep up with Rachel and blend will with her voice.' I loved singing and I loved being part of Glee Club. Like we said before there was an instant connection between Rachel and I, and Quinn knew it. She joined, along with Santana and Brittney, so she could keep an eye on me. Mr. Shue helped up win our first football game by teaching us to dance, so Puck, Mike, and Matt joined. Let's see I think I have a picture on my phone of the original glee club."

"Finn, you don't have a picture of the original one, that was Mercedes, Tina, Kurt, Artie, and I."

Finn took out his phone and began going through the pictures, "No, love, I'm pretty sure I took a picture of the five of you right before we performed Don't Stop Believin'. Here it is." He handed his phone across the table. "This is the original club. By the end of the year we had this club." He took back his phone and switched the picture to the one they had taken for their Yearbook photo. He pointed out who everyone was. He took his phone back and showed them the Glee Club from junior year as well as the past one.

"Wait so you had cheerleaders and football players on your team and yet you still got slushied? That doesn't make sense," piped up Austin.

Finn laughed, "Have you guys ever been slushied?" All four of the others shook their heads. Rachel couldn't help but giggle, "Well just so you know it is the most awful thing ever. Not only can you not breathe but it stains everything and just drips down you. We learned fast to always pack a few extra outfits in our lockers just in case the hockey players decided it was time for a slushy facial. Finn sighed, "Well at first it was the football team who was tossing the slushies, but once there were four of us in the club and the girls saved the championship game for them when they couldn't man up and play, they decided that they owed the Glee Club too much to be tossing slushies in their faces, so the puck heads took over."

They talked more about how their high school experiences were different and how they were similar. When it was around 9:30, Rachel decided that it was time for them to go home. She could tell that something was bothering Finn and she wanted to talk to him about why a detective was coming to meet with him in the morning. They paid their bill, said their good-byes, and left hand in hand.


	23. Chapter 23

_**I'm sorry this chapter has taken me so long to write. I've been having major writers block. Thanks for being patient with me. Hopefully these next few chapters will be easier to write. Thanks to all who have added this story as their favorite or put it on their story alert. I can't believe this story is as popular as it is. Please leave your comments!**_

* * *

Rather than taking a cab home, Finn decided that he wanted to take a walk through the city. He knew he needed to tell Rachel about the reason a detective was coming for breakfast in the morning but he didn't even know where to start. She led him towards Central Park where she found a bench that wasn't too far off the path but quiet enough they could talk. She sat down and patted the bench next to her. He sat down and leaned his elbows onto his knees. She moved closer and began rubbing her hand over his back. They stayed quiet for a few moments. Moments like this had become precious to Finn. When they had first started dating, Rachel hardly ever let there be a moment of silence. When there was silence, it was usually awkward. The longer they dated, the less awkward the silences became. They could sit for a long time and just be content to be with each other, no need for words to be spoken.

After about minutes, Finn cleared his throat. "Umm, Rach baby, tomorrow morning a detective is coming to tell me what new information he has found out about my dad. Burt hired a private detective to find out as much information as he could so that I would be able to get a head-start on my research before heading to Georgia. My mom and I met with him a few weeks ago and he told me a lot of information about my dad. He pretty much told me that it is helpless to try to change his discharge status. He said that from what he can gather, my dad was a good man and helped save a lot of people, he just snapped for some reason. They still aren't so sure why, that is why he thinks that I need to go to Georgia to try talking to some of his old friends and acquaintances and see if they can tell me what happened. He told me once he found out more information he'd contact me and well I guess that he did." Finn looked up when he felt Rachel take her hand off his back. She was staring down at him with disbelief.

"Finn! Why didn't you tell me that you had found out something about your dad? That is great news!" She stopped when she saw Finn look back down at his hands, "Or isn't it? Finn what did he say?"

"Umm, well he said that it could take a few years for me to find out enough information about what happened to even make the Military take a look at his file again. Rach that is a few years staying in Georgia, away from you. I could barely handle being away from you for a month, how could I handle a few years? I wanted to tell you about it, in fact I almost called you to tell you all about it after I talked to him, but I felt like such a failure and that I would be letting you down again by not coming to New York when I told you I would. I don't even know if it is even worth trying to redeem him. I just feel like…"

"Finn, I don't think we can make this decision until we hear what he has to say tomorrow. But let me tell you one thing, we fill figure it out together. And tomorrow morning I will be there holding your hand. Should we pick something up or do you want to get up early enough to make him breakfast?"

Finn leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. Everything was always so much better when she was by his side. "Let's get up and make him something. But this time I want you to wake me up to help you cook this time."

Rachel smiled and wrapped her arms around his. He leaned over and kissed her head. They sat there for a while longer before Finn's phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Finn, where have you two been? It's late and this isn't Lima. It's New York!"

"Kurt, we're on our way right now. We went for a walk and we are now on our way. We'll see you in a few minutes." He hung up and grabbed Rachel's hand to pull her to her feet. They took off running so that Kurt wouldn't call them again to find out where they were.

* * *

Finn groaned as he heard the alarm clock go off. He knew he needed to get up but he was so comfortable. He reached over the sleeping figure next to him and hit the alarm off. As he laid back down he felt Rachel snuggle closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to keep her as close as possible. She started giggling which surprised him because he thought she was still sleeping, "Finn, babe, you don't need to hold onto me so tight. I'm not going anywhere. Well I mean we need to get up and make breakfast and I kind of need to get ready and everything before this detective comes and mmm Finn you are making it really hard to tell you what I need to when you do that." Rachel was trying so hard to concentrate on everything they had to do for the morning but Finn kept kissing her neck and right behind her ear. She felt her skin burn every time he made contact with his lips. She felt shivers run down her back and he chuckled as she tried to move away from him. There was way too much this morning to even think about that. Rachel waited until he adjusted before she threw off the covers and ran, squealing for the bathroom. She shut the door and locked it just as he tried to turn the knob.

"Rachel let me in! I need to go in there before you decide to shower. Please don't make me go use Kurt's bathroom he'll probably try to put something in my lotion like he did to Blaine's." Finn heard the shower turn on and knew that he was not going to get to go in the bathroom for a while. "Fine, I'll just go to Kurt's bathroom then. But you only have 15 minutes and then we have to start breakfast." He grabbed his shirt and threw it on before walking out into the front room.

Santana was sitting at the table looking at some papers. She looked up when Finn walked into the room, "Buenos Dias, Finn. How did you sleep? Wait; don't answer that question I do not need that image burned into my mind. A better question should be how your date last night was?"  
Finn laughed and grabbed the juice from the fridge. He opened every cupboard until he found the cups. _This will take some getting used to, _he thought. "Well, the date went well. I think that Julia and Mandi will be good friends for Rach to have. And to answer your question, I slept well last night thank-you. Nothing happened because we were both pretty exhausted. In fact, I fell asleep before she even finished her night-time ritual. By the way, have you seen Kurt? Rachel locked me out of the bathroom to shower and I kinda need to go."

Santana looked up at him and started laughing, "She seriously locked you out? That's the best thing ever. I haven't seen Kurt yet but you are welcome to use my bathroom as long as you promise to put the seat down when you're done and wipe the counter down when you finish splashing water around with your enormous hands."

She had hardly finished what she was saying when Finn went running for her bedroom. She could hardly finish eating her breakfast she was laughing so hard. A few minutes later she saw Rachel peak her head around the corner. "Tana," she whispered, "where is Finn? I need…" Before Rachel could finish her sentence, Santana saw Finn come running towards her in the corner of her eye. Rachel squealed and tried to run away but Finn's long legs gave him the advantage and he grabbed her around the waist right before she could make it back to the bedroom.

Santana rolled her eyes and returned back to her papers as Finn was carrying Rachel into the kitchen to start cooking breakfast. They finished right before 10, giving Rachel enough time to apply a light coat of make-up and Santana to make her escape to her bedroom. Finn thought he might pass out when he heard someone knock on the door. He paused and looked at Rachel who reached up and kissed his cheek. He smiled and opened the door, "Detective Jones, won't you please come in. I hope you're hungry, we've made quite the feast for you."


	24. Chapter 24

**_This chapter is a bit shorter but there really was nothing else to pair it with. I Hope you all like it. Thanks for your reviews. When I started writing this story I never thought that so many people would enjoy it! If you have any ideas for the story I'd love to hear them! :)_**

* * *

Rachel knocked on Kurt's bedroom door. She heard him yell for her to come in. When she opened the door she saw him lying on his bed going through some of the information about colleges he had gathered. "Umm Kurt, can you possibly join us for breakfast? It will make Finn feel better to have some support."

Kurt had no idea what Rachel was talking about, "Diva, support for what? Breakfast smells amazing but what is going on?"

"The detective is here to give him the latest information that he has found out about his dad. He's super nervous and we actually made enough breakfast to feed a lot more people than just the three of us." Rachel bit her bottom lip as she waited for his reply. The truth was she needed Kurt there to help hold her together in case Finn broke down. She was trying so hard to be strong for Finn.

Kurt smiled, "Yeah Rach, I'll be out in just a minute. Let me hurry and save this resume."

Rachel and Kurt came walking out into the kitchen as Detective Jones and Finn were walking in from the front door. Rachel walked over to Finn and wrapped her arms around his waist. She looked up into his eyes trying to read his expression. He smiled and bent down to give her a quick kiss on the lips. She turned her back towards the table and started to take plates out of the cupboard, trying to hide the blush that was appearing on her cheeks. She heard Finn come up behind her to take the plates from her. "I love you so much Rach baby," he whispered right before turning around.

As she came back to the table she heard Finn making the introduction, "Detective Jones, this is my step-brother Kurt. He's Burt's son. And this beautiful girl is my fiancé, Rachel." Rachel never got tired of hearing him introduce her as his fiancé. She couldn't wait until the day that he would introduce her as his wife.

Detective Jones seemed a bit cautious to tell Finn what he had to say with the other two people. "It is very nice to meet the two of you. I've heard a lot about you Kurt from working with your dad. As I did my research about Finn, I also learned a lot about you Rachel. I must say you are very talented. Finn is a lucky man. Umm, Finn, are you sure that you want the two of them to hear this information? It is kind of classified information."

Finn looked at the detective and nodded, "Yes I am sure. There are no secrets in my family. Kurt was told about you before Burt had really even hired you and Rachel knows all the information thus far. I don't want any secrets kept from either of them. This situation will affect both of them as well as me."

Detective Jones hesitated again before continuing, "Well I did find out some new information. Your dad's file was pretty vague but it did have some valuable information. Your dad was a hero in Iraq. He saved the lives of not only his troop members but he also gathered information about a planned attack that saved a lot of innocent lives. That right there could be enough to get a medal of honor; however, there are strict rules when it comes to the use of drugs. I don't know what made your dad start drugs; you will have to figure all that out when you go to Georgia but I would be very surprised if they will even take a second look at this file. I know that is not the information that you want to hear but it's all I got kid. I'm real sorry.

"Also, I would be very carefully about the people you ask information from. There are some that will really want to help you but others not so much. Would you like me to compile a list of those that you can talk to and others you should steer clear of?"

Finn sighed and ran his hand through his hair. As he brought it down he felt Rachel latch onto it. He turned and looked into her beautiful brown eyes. He wanted desperately to be with her and get married soon but he also felt like he needed to at least try to find out what happened to his dad. He searched her face looking for his answer and when she nodded he squeezed her hand as tight as he could without crushing her small hand with his giant one. "Detective Jones, I think it would be best for you to get me those names. Also do you think you could possibly get in contact with someone about me getting a place to stay for a few months? It won't be permanent of course because as soon as I can get enough information, I will be on my way back to New York." He smiled down at Rachel and could see that her eyes were full of tears. She smiled back proudly at him and he brought her hand up, brushing it lightly to his lips. His eyes never left her and she felt herself getting lost in his beautiful eyes. They were brought back to reality when Kurt cleared his throat. Rachel blushed and Detective Jones laughed.

"Well I want to thank you for breakfast it has been delicious. I will look into some housing for you Finn. I bet I could pull a few strings and get you a place close to the base. I'll be in contact with you soon." He stood and shook all their hands. As he went to walk out the door, he stopped and turned back around. The look on his face was very serious. He looked at Finn with a hard expression, "I just have to say this to you, Mr. Hudson. Finding out all this information is not worth losing that girl over. You will never find someone who cares as much for you as she does. I can see it in the way the two of you look at each other. Have a good day. I'll be in contact." And with that, he shut the door behind him.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Here's the next chapter! Hope you are all ready for Brittana and Klaine to be reunited! I promise there will be more of them to come! Thank you all who read this! Please leave your reviews!**_

Summer was beginning to come to an end. Finn had gone back to Lima a month ago once Burt had to go back to Washington D.C. meaning Finn had to go home to help Sam run the shop. After he had left, Rachel had begun taking a few workshop classes that were being offered to help improve her range and her performance. Kurt and Santana were both registered for classes at NYU where they would begin in September. Finn would move to Georgia at the end of August to begin looking for any bit of information he could find about what had happened to his father. Detective Jones had even set him up with a job which would help him to be right on the base and would benefit him in finding out any information he could. Everything seemed to be finally falling into place.

Rachel and Kurt were sitting on the couch trying to figure out a song for Rachel to sing at the workshop the next week when they heard Santana scream. Before either of them could get up to see what was wrong she came running into the room holding her phone out. "Look at the picture Britt just sent me! Is that not here in New York? I swear we walk past that coffee shop all the time."

Kurt took the phone away from Santana. The message read **Look where I just stopped to get something to eat. I've heard that it is a great place to go when you are starving. Loves! **"Umm yeah Tana that is about 4 blocks from here. Rach, didn't we go here the other day."

Rachel looked at the phone and laughed, "Yeah we went there last week. I was telling Finn how much I loved the bagels that they had. Wait, how would Brittney know about it, the grand opening was like two weeks ago?"

Before any of them could figure out what was going on, they heard a knock at the door. Santana ran to the door and gasped. Kurt and Rachel were following close behind. Standing in the door way was Brittney and Blaine. "Surprise!" they both yelled in unison. Santana and Kurt both just sat there staring at the two of them.

Rachel laughed and invited them in, pulling Santana and Kurt out of the way so that Blaine and Brittney could come in. As Blaine was coming in, she saw him look down the hall and nod his head. Figuring it was one of their neighbors she began to shut the door. Just as it was about to close she felt someone's hand push against it. As she opened it again, she knew she recognized that hand. The door was barely opened all the way before she threw herself into Finn's opened arms. "You came back," she whispered into his shoulder. "I figured you were so busy at home that you wouldn't be able to see me before you went to Georgia. But here you are!"

Finn could feel his shoulder getting damp with her tears. He pulled her down so he could see her face, "Rachel, darling, do you honestly think that I would have gone away without coming to see you? Brittney and Blaine wanted to take a trip here before school started so I decided to tag along with them. I've known for about two weeks but they swore me to secrecy because they wanted to make it a surprise for Santana and Kurt. It has been so hard to not say anything to you. I kept trying to drop hints to you whenever we would talk but I guess they weren't that good of hints."

Rachel thought about what Finn was saying. She did think it was weird when she had told him about the coffee shop that he said he wouldn't just take her word for it, but he would try it out soon and when she had told him that she missed him he just replied back with a soon. She had assumed he just meant that he would try to hurry up everything in Georgia as soon as he could. She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, forcing Finn to lower himself to her level. She didn't care if the other two couples were staring at them. She kissed him and she felt him deepen their kiss. She finally felt like she had come home again.

* * *

The three couples were all seated in the front room eating the take-out they had decided to order in. All of them just wanted to enjoy each other's company rather than go out and explore the city. The only one of them that hadn't been there before was Blaine but Kurt had a plan all of his own to make lots of great memories while his boyfriend was in town. They were all relaxing and trying to decide what movie to watch. Rachel was lying across Finn's lap while he played with her hair. She didn't know why but whenever he would play with her hair, she was completely relaxed. She was so relaxed she didn't realize that Kurt was trying to talk to her.

"Rachel! We still need to pick that duet you are going to sing for your class next week! That is what we were in the process of doing when we were interrupted by the arrival of these three wonderful people. We need to pick that song so we can start practicing it."

Rachel slowly sat up and leaned against Finn's shoulder. She felt him shift and drape his arm over her. She turned to look at his face as she spoke, "When are you guys going back?"

"Umm, didn't we decide two weeks Blaine?" Blaine nodded. Finn turned his attention back to Rachel, "Burt is home for a few days and he hired a new worker to take my place when I leave so he is training him and Sam to take over more responsibility. But we may be able to extend it longer depending on when the other two want to go back. Why what's up, princess?"

"Well I have to sing this duet at my workshop this next week. As much as I love singing with Kurt, our voices connect better and I think it would be really fun to sing one last duet with you before you leave me. Kurt, are you okay if Finn sings with me? I am sure there will be lots more opportunities for us to sing together."

Kurt looked as though he had just been thrown in a dumpster, "Serious? I am getting replaced for him?" Rachel was about to take it back and tell Kurt he could sing with her when he started laughing, "Oh Diva you didn't think I was serious did you? I would be more than happy to defer to Finn."

Rachel looked up to Finn searching his face for his answer. They hadn't sung together since they graduated and she had no idea if he had still been singing. "I mean, I totally understand if you don't want to but I just thought that…"

"Rachel, stop talking. I would love to sing with you! We should probably find one so we can practice. Do you have any ideas?"

Rachel threw herself into his arms, "Thank you! I am so excited! Come on, let's go find one!" She pulled him up off the couch and started walking towards the bedroom to grab her computer and a notebook. Finn went to follow her but was stopped when Brittney started talking about a song she had heard when she was hanging out with Mercedes and Sam.

"Mercedes was telling Sam about this song which relates humans to glass. I don't quite understand what that has to do with anything but it is a duet and I think that it would sound great with Rachel and Finn singing it. Mercedes knows the name of it but I can't even remember what it is called."

Sam had shown the song to Finn when he was at work one day. Sam had asked Finn if he knew what it meant, but of course Finn was just as confused as Sam. He remembered how beautiful the song was. He grabbed his phone and thanked Brittney for the idea.

**Hey man! Remember that song that you showed me the other day that Mercedes loved? What is the name of it? Rachel needs a duet and Britt thinks that would be a great one for us to sing. You guys don't mind do ya? –Finn**

Within a few minutes, he had his reply: **Glad you made it to New York. The song is called 'Glass' and Cedes thinks it will be a great song for the two of you to sing. She wants you to try recording it so she can listen to it! –Sam**

When Finn finally opened the bedroom door, he saw that Rachel had changed. Rather than the white skirt and navy blue top she was wearing, she now was wearing capris sweat pants, a magenta tank top and had her hair pulled up in a ballerina style bun. Finn stood against the door and just stared at her. Kurt had made the comment once that he hated when girls would walk around in their sweats and their hair pulled up because it looked like they had been too lazy to even get ready for the morning. Finn, however, loved when he saw Rachel like this. It reminded him of just how beautiful she really was. Rachel would never be caught dead outside of her apartment like this unless she was at dance rehearsal which made it even more special for Finn to see her like this.

Rachel hadn't even looked up from her computer when he came in. He walked to his side of the bed and took his shoes off so that he wouldn't get the bed dirty. Once he had finished, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. She finally looked up and smiled, "About time you showed up. I can't find a song that is perfect for us to sing. I am getting so frustrated." She almost protested when Finn leaned over and kissed her gently on her lips and then took her computer off her lap.

"Sam showed me this song the other day and I think that it would be perfect for us to sing. Let me play it for you and you can decide since it is for your class. He handed her the computer back and leaned against the headboard, pulling him closer to her. As she listened to the song, she would nod her head and write down a few things.

As the song came to an end, she rested her head back on his shoulder so she could look into his eyes, "This is a perfect song for us to sing. I love it, just like I love you."

Finn wrapped his arms around her. They were silent for a few minutes before he decided to ask the question that had been weighing on his mind for a while. "I don't mean to upset you, my love, but have you talked to your dads at all since the falling out?" He felt her tense in his arms, "I was just curious, if you don't want to talk about it or anything we don't have to."

"Finn, I've tried to get in contact with them, but they never answer or return my phone calls. I just didn't realize that they were so bitter towards our relationship. I sent them an email asking them to send me something and I got it in the mail two days later with no letter or anything. I just hope that they are more accepting of it by our wedding."

Finn rested his chin on her head and sighed, "Well the reason that I am asking is because my mom and I were talking before I came out here and I told her that I was really worried about it and that I didn't want to be the reason your family was now completely broken. I love you too much to see you hurt like this. Anyways I told her that we were worried about trying to pay for the wedding since your family is against the whole marriage thing. I mean yes we already have the dress, but I want to make the wedding more special than the first one would have been. She said her and Burt have been discussing this and they are going to help us cover any costs that we can't cover on our own. She has a friend that caters weddings who will give her a discount and if we have Kurt help us out, I am sure he will keep it under budget like he did with Mom and Burt's wedding. I don't want you to be worried about that. While I am in Georgia, I want us to get the wedding all planned so that once I get home we can get married. If you want to give your dads more time, I completely understand. I just, I just am so tired of waiting. I feel like I have been waiting too long already."  
Rachel wiped tears from her eyes and looked into Finn's soft brown eyes. He somehow always knew exactly what she needed to hear. He wiped away the tears and tucked a piece of stray hair away that had fallen out of her bun. He leaned down so his forehead was pressed against hers and kissed her nose, "Can I just tell you how beautiful you look when you are wearing no makeup and sweats. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. How about we practice this song so I don't mess it up for you?" She smiled and kissed him gently. She could hardly wait until she could bear his name as her own


	26. Author's Note

I want to apologize for this update taking SO LONG! I have been super busy and when I finished the chapter my computer didn't save it properly! I promise that by Friday or Saturday you will have a new chapter! I'm kind of running out of ideas so if you have ideas for songs or things you want to happen, let me know! Suggestions are appreciated!

-lanajie20


	27. Chapter 26

**_I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get this update! I have been so busy the past few weeks! I'm actually thinking about ending this story soon and writing a sequel to it but I haven't decided anything yet. Thank you for being patient with me. I hope you enjoy some Brittana and Klaine story!_**

* * *

Blaine, Brittney, and Finn had been in New York for a total of twelve hours when Santana declared that she was ready for some major Brittana time. The last time they had been in New York, they were still trying to keep it a secret from everyone because they themselves weren't so sure of what they were. Plus Santana was tired of listening to Finn and Rachel rehearse their duet over and over again. She planned an entire day that would include just her and Brittney with the other two couples meeting up later that evening for dinner.

Brittney and Santana started their day walking through Time Square. They were mostly window shopping since neither of them had a lot of money to spare. As the afternoon wore on, Santana led Brittney to Central Park to enjoy the shade that was provided by the many trees. They found a bench that was not far from the path and sat down to eat the lunches they had packed. They ate in silence which was rather strange for both of them. Brittney was more intent on watching the old lady feeding birds than she was in paying attention to what she was eating.

Santana couldn't take it any longer, "Britt, is something wrong? You have been unusually quiet all morning and now you are paying more attention to that lady over there than to me. Did you not want to come to New York to see me?"

Brittney glanced up at Santana before looking back down at the sandwich she was holding in her hands, "Santana, I want to quit the Cheerios! I mean, Coach Sue told me I could be captain along with Becky but she is so awful to me and tries to manipulate me into doing things that could kill me. Without you there, who is going to explain to me what she is really trying to do? Please don't be upset Santana, but I feel like if I am ever going to graduate, I need to not do so much. Pretty sure I'm also going to give up my presidency so that someone else can do it. I mean, yeah I had an amazing year and we did so much awesome things but I think it is someone else's turn to make a difference. Plus, I feel like Principal Figgins didn't agree with too many of my ideas so I don't want to deal with that stress."

Santana was staring at her girlfriend in disbelief, "Britt, remember when I asked you last year when you got so smart after Nationals? I must ask that question again. How long have you been thinking about all of this stuff?"

"Well, when I realized that I couldn't graduate with you, I started to rethink everything. I don't want to be stuck in Lima another year but I have to in order to graduate. Artie is going to help tutor me so that I can pass all my classes and Ms. Pillsbury has set up a schedule for me that will be really good."

Santana froze at the mention of Brittney's ex-boyfriend. It wasn't that she was jealous of Artie it was the fact that he would get to spend so much time with Brittney. Santana had to admit, when Brittney had been with Artie, she had been happy. Brittney wasn't completely set on the whole being Lesbian thing which sometimes worried Santana. She knew Brittney loved her, that wasn't her problem. Santana decided it was time that they decided where they both stood in this relationship before it was too late. Santana hesitated, "Umm Britts, I-I think we need to talk about how things are going to be for us this next year. I mean, you know that the long distance relationship is not going to be easy and it is going to take a lot of effort on both of our parts. If, I guess what I am trying to say is if you don't want to try or think you would much rather enjoy your senior year and not be tied to me, I completely understand. We can go back to just being friends and nothing else."

Santana looked up into Brittney's eyes. Brittney was staring back at her with astonishment. Santana felt her stomach drop. She tried to come up with something to say but was interrupted by Brittney clearing her throat, "Tana, I actually was going to ask you the same exact thing. I mean you are in this great big city and are going to meet lots of new people who are much more interesting and a lot smarter than I am. I want to try to make this work out, but if you think it would be too hard for both of us, then let's just stay friends. I can't lose you in my life."

Santana smiled through her tears and leaned over the table to hug her best friend. She cleared her throat and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere Britt. We're going to make this work, I promise. It won't be easy, but then again nothing about our relationship has ever been easy."

They pulled apart and finished eating before continuing their walk around Central Park hand in hand.

* * *

Kurt was so excited to show Blaine around all this favorite places in New York. Since Blaine had never been to New York, Kurt wanted to make sure that everything was special. They were walking through Times Square when Blaine slowed his pace. Kurt hardly noticed until he turned to point something out and realized Blaine was no longer next to him. He turned back and went to stand by his boyfriend's side. They walked along at a much slower pace in complete silence.

"Kurt," Blaine finally broke the silence. "Do you think that sometimes Mr. Shue tells us that we're better than we really are? Like most of us really aren't as talented as we think we are."

This time Blaine had to stop walking and turn to see Kurt stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, staring back at him with disbelief. "What-what are you talking about Blaine? What would make you suddenly think this? I mean obviously we're all pretty good we were the best show choir in the Nation. That has to mean something doesn't it?"

Blaine sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. The two continued walking but Kurt could tell that something was really bothering Blaine. He waited patiently hoping his boyfriend would break the silence. They walked into the new café to grab some lunch. After they had ordered their food, Blaine looked down at his hands and broke the silence, "Kurt, you know that I want to come to New York more than anything when I graduate next year. It's just, I want to get into NYADA so that I can do musical theater, however, you didn't get in and so I wonder if there is even any point in me applying to get in. I also heard that Jesse St. James applied and he didn't get in and everyone says that he is amazing. I guess I just worry that when I go to audition, I'll have a choke like Rachel and not get that second chance like she did. I mean honestly I was a bit surprised when she did get in."

Kurt tried to hold back a laugh, "Blaine, are you being serious? Okay first off, you are a lot better than I am. I have a unique voice that is what makes me special. Your voice is just plain amazing and I am not just saying that because you are my boyfriend. If Finn and Rachel's voices didn't blend so well, I am almost positive you would have had all the male leads last year. Your acting is phenomenal so musical theater is just the place for you. Jesse was good but he lacked passion in everything he did and you definitely have him beat there. I don't understand why you are completely worried about all of this right now. You still have another year to think about all of this." The only time Kurt had ever seen Blaine this vulnerable was when he hadn't been allowed to wear hair gel. Usually it was Blaine convincing Kurt that he was good enough, this was a new experience for Kurt. A thought came to his mind and he quickly reached for his phone, hoping Blaine wouldn't notice.

**Hey Rach! Did you say that the day you and Finn sing your duet is open for anyone to come? I wanted to bring Blaine to listen to you. **He couldn't tell her that Blaine was having confidence issues because it was not her place to know. He tweeked the last part to say **Blaine and I were making plans for the week and we decided we wanted to come see our beloved Finchel perform again. **He sent it and crossed his fingers, hoping that Rachel would text him back soon. Within about three minutes he had his response. If Blaine went and listened to some of the other people who were in some of Rachel's workshops, he would get an idea of what he was up against. Kurt hoped that his plan would work since that day was completely open to the public.

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_**Thoughts? Please leave your reviews! :) Next chapter will feature a Finchel duet!**  
_


	28. Chapter 27

Today was the big day! Rachel couldn't decide if she was more excited to finally get the chance to perform in front of her classmates or to finally get to show off her fiancé to everyone. When the alarm went off, she jumped out of bed so fast that she got a bit lightheaded and had to sit back down. She sat there holding her head hoping that the dizziness would go away. She was startled when she heard a sleepy voice from behind her, "Babe, are you okay? You jumped out of bed so fast I didn't even have time to catch you and keep you next to me. Is something wrong?" She felt him come up behind her and kiss her shoulder, keeping his lips on it and taking in her smell. She giggled and leaned back into his shoulder. _Yep, _she thought, _pretty sure I am more excited to show him off then I am to show my voice off._ She leaned against him and closed her eyes. She couldn't wait until the day that he was officially sharing this apartment with him. It had been lots of fun sharing it with Kurt and Santana, but it didn't quite feel like a home yet. She knew that eventually they'd have to look for a bigger apartment, but for now and for their immediate future, this one would do just fine.

She had no idea how long she had her eyes closed but she could hear his breathing deepen, knowing he had probably fallen asleep again. She kissed his cheek softly before getting up, a bit slower this time, and hurried to the bathroom. She was just getting out when she heard banging in the kitchen and Santana begin yelling, followed by Finn's loud laugher. She hurried and wrapped her hair in a towel and threw her robe on. She ran out of the bedroom to see Santana and Brittney standing in the kitchen attempting to cook breakfast. Finn was sitting at the table trying to catch his breath after laughing at whatever had happened. Kurt and Blaine came running out of Kurt's bedroom about the same time that Rachel finally made it to Finn's side.

"What happened? I was just getting out of the shower when I heard a loud bang and Santana cursing. Why are you laughing Finn, I don't understand what is so funny?"

Santana turned to glare at Finn, "Well Britt and I decided we were going to make breakfast for everyone. We were making crepes when Frankenteen over here came up behind us and scared us half to death! I almost dropped the bowl and Brittney dropped the cup and spoon she was trying to set down on the table. I must say amiga, he thinks he is pretty dang funny but if he doesn't watch himself, I'm gonna go all Lima Heights on him!"

Rachel seated herself on Finn's lap and turned to scold him. When she turned to face him, he had an adorable little pout on his face. She tried to remain serious but couldn't contain it any longer. She began to giggle which in turn made the whole room, including Santana, begin to laugh. Finn wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly as she wiped tears from her eyes. He smiled proudly at her and pressed his nose into her shoulder, taking in the scent of her freshly washed robe. She kissed his cheek and walked into the bedroom to change into her outfit for the day. She and Kurt had gone shopping to find just the right outfit for this duet. It wasn't what she usually wore, but it portrayed the meaning of the song and was something she would be able to wear for many other performances or nights out on the town.

She put the dress on and reached back to zip it up. She couldn't quite get it up all the way. Walking towards the door for Kurt's help, she stopped herself. Finn hadn't see the outfit yet. She wanted to surprise him and see his reaction, but not in front of everyone. She opened the door and yelled for Kurt to come help her. Kurt came running in and stopped soon after he came into the room. His mouth opened wide and he just stared at her. "Rachel you look smokin' hot! Finn is going to die when he sees you. What did you need help with?"

Rachel smiled, "I need you to zip me up and help me with my make-up. I want it to be natural but not so little that the stage lights will fade me out. Do you really think Finn will like it?" Once the dress was zipped, Rachel smoothed it out with her hands. She tugged at the navy blue material to position it just right. The navy fabric flowed down and ended just above her knees. Kurt handed her the silver short sleeved cardigan which helped to accent the rhinestones around the top and the waist. He applied her make-up a bit darker than normal and curled her hair loosely so it flowed down her back.

When he had put the finishing touches on her lips, he stepped back to admire his work. If someone had told Kurt Hummel sophomore year of Glee Club that the diva who wore animal sweaters and plaid skirts was going to become his best friend, he would have laughed. If someone had told him that the girl standing in front of him looking as gorgeous as ever was the same girl, he probably would have told them they were nuts. "Rach, you look absolutely stunning! You are going to blow them away not only with the song, but with how spectacular you look. I'll go get Finn so he can get…"

"No! I don't want him to see me until right before we go onto the stage. I want to see his reaction and see how it affects his performance. Hand me that white overcoat out of my closet." As Kurt walked towards the closet, Rachel turned to look at her reflection in the mirror. She smiled to herself and complimented Kurt on his work. She put the coat on, even though it was the middle of August, and grabbed her bag, draping it over her shoulder, careful not to mess up the curls that were cascading down her back. She hugged Kurt and walked out the door of her bedroom. Everyone had now moved to the front room and was seated around the television, talking to one another. As he heard the door open, Finn turned around to see his fiancé beaming at him. He got up and met her halfway across the room, never letting his eyes leave her. He bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips, careful not to mess up the lipstick he knew Kurt had spent lots of time putting on just perfectly.

"You look beautiful, love. However, why are you wearing an overcoat? It is extremely hot outside."

Rachel laughed her contagious laughed and reached up to stroke his cheek as she looked lovingly into his eyes, "I'm wearing this so that you can't see my dress. I want it to be a surprise for everyone to see when we sing today." She kissed his cheek, leaving a lipstick stain on it and walked out the door. Finn suddenly wished that he was going with her to school.

* * *

Rachel was pacing back and forth along the side of the stage playing with her engagement ring. Finn and the rest of them would be there soon and she was a bit nervous to see Finn's reaction. She knew he always found her beautiful but there was something special about seeing him completely speechless when he saw her. He had done it on the day of their 'almost wedding' and senior prom and she wanted the same reaction from him today. She heard footsteps come up behind her and then stop. She turned around slowly and saw him standing behind her completely mesmerized by her appearance. She took the opportunity to take him in. He was wearing tan pants and a navy shirt that matched the color of her dress with a silver tie that matched her cardigan perfectly. His hair was carefully styled into his trademark fin and he looked as handsome as ever. She smiled and walked towards him. As she reached him, he reached out and touched her face. He didn't speak as he stared into her eyes.

"Umm, Finn we need to warm up since we go on in about five minutes. I mean I am warmed up but you still need to so that you don't strain your voice…" She stopped when she realized she was just rambling on, nervous about what Finn thought of how she looked because he still hadn't said anything. She smiled shyly up at him and grabbed his hand, leading him into the room where the piano was waiting for him to warm up.

She played a few notes for him to reach and as he sang, he never took his eyes off her. He continued to watch her, almost studying her. Her instructor came in to tell her that they had five minutes before they were to take the stage. She thanked her instructor and as she watched her leave the room, she felt Finn come up behind her and wrap his arms around her. He didn't say anything, just kissed the top of her head and then walked to the opposite side of the stage. As they were introduced, she could see him smiling at her. His reaction to her made her even more nervous than she was before.

* * *

If you want to see kind of what the dress looked like go to this website. You will have to take the spaces out of it.

www.9lover shop/ wedding-d ress-bri dal-go wn-8981. html

**Their performance is up next! Thanks for sticking with me. Please leave your reviews!**


	29. Chapter 28

_**Here is the performance! I hope you all enjoy it. As you read it, I would listen to the song, Glass by Thompson Square. I think there will be two more chapters after this one. I am still considering writing a sequel to this story but I haven't been getting a lot of feedback so I'm not sure if anyone is still reading the story! Please leave your reviews, it makes writing easier when I know people are waiting to find out what happens to our two favorite characters!**_

* * *

The music began to play and Rachel began walking towards the middle of the stage, she took a deep breath and began singing:

_Trying to live and love,_

_With a heart that can't be broken,_

_Is like trying to see the light with eyes that can't be opened._

_Yeah, we both carry baggage, _

_We picked up on our way, so if you love me do it gently,_

_And I will do the same._

_(Both): We may shine, we may shatter,_

_We may be picking up the pieces here on after,_

_We are fragile, we are human,_

_We are shaped by the light we let through us,_

_We break fast, cause we are glass._

_(Rachel): Cause we are glass._

Rachel hadn't realized how true these words were until she was standing across the stage singing them to Finn. They had both been through so much together as well as separated. She choked back the tears as she listened to Finn sing the next part to her, throwing in a few harmonizing phrases every few lines. Finn never took his eyes off her. He continued to watch her as they sang together.

_(Finn): I'll let you look inside me, through the stains and through the cracks,_

_And in the darkness of this moment,_

_You see the good and bad._

_But try not to judge me, 'cause we've walked down different paths,_

_But it brought us here together, so I won't take that back._

_(Both): We may shine, we may shatter,_

_We may be picking up the pieces here on after,_

_We are fragile, we are human,_

_We are shaped by the light we let through us,_

_We break fast, cause we are glass._

Finn could hardly take his eyes off her beautiful face. As they had practiced this song the past week, he had not realized how true to their situation the words actually were.

_(Rachel): We might be oil and water; this could be a big mistake,_

_We might burn like gasoline and fire, _

_It's a chance we'll have to take._

Rachel turned towards the audience to sing the final chorus. She had heard sniffling while they were singing, but as she looked out at her classmates and friends, she saw that many of them were wiping tears from their eyes. Even Santana was trying to compose herself. Rachel had known she was a powerful singer, but she never realized how much power her and Finn had together.

_(Both): We may shine, we may shatter,_

_We may be picking up the pieces here on after,_

_We are fragile, we are human,_

_We are shaped by the light we let through us,_

_We break fast, cause we are glass._

Rachel turned back to face Finn as they were bringing the song to an end. H walked close to her and she felt her heart quicken. She had a momentary flashback to how she had felt when they had been singing 'Pretending' together of when they had had the "Superman of all kisses." As much as she wanted to throw herself into his arms, she knew that it would be very unprofessional if they had another repeat where, as Kurt explained it, the Jew was being eaten by the T-rex.

_(Harmonizing together): We are glass._

Finn wanted so badly to kiss her like he had the last time it had only been the two of them singing together on a stage like this but he knew Rachel was trying her hardest to impress these people before she officially started school. He grabbed her hand after their bow, and led her to the side of the stage. He took her to a corner where he knew no one would find them and turned to face her. He leaned down close to her face and kissed her. He tried display all the passion he was feeling because of that song without getting too carried away. He wanted this girl to know just how special she was to him and how much he truly loved her, every part of her. As he felt her pull away, he rested his forehead against hers. He watched her rub her lips together and smile up at him. "I love you, Rachel Barbra Berry. Don't you ever forget that. You look so beautiful today and when you were singing that song, I just, I just wanted to kiss you like I had when we sang 'Pretending' together. You were spectacular today," Finn whispered.

She knew from the reaction they had gotten once they finished that people would be coming to find them. As soon as they had finished the last line everyone had been up on their feet, clapping loudly. Rachel had gotten so many standing ovations but this one was even more special because of how far she had come in her life. She was sharing the stage with the love of her life at the school of her choice in the city of her dreams. She knew that if she tried to express how much she loved Finn she would just start crying so instead she leaned up and kissed him. It was a quick kiss because she could hear people coming up onto the stage. She kissed his cheek and whispered that they would continue this later and pulled away just as Kurt and Santana came running up to hug her.

"Berry," Santana shouted, "you were spectacular! I mean, you weren't bad either Hudson. I have seen so many of your performances together that I think I have a right to say that that performance was by far the best one you two have ever done! It was amazing!"

"She's right little diva," Kurt cut in. "We could all feel the passion as you two were singing. It almost reminded me of how it felt to watch the two of you sing 'Pretending' two years ago, except I must say I am very thankful that we didn't have a repeat of the kiss."

Everyone laughed. Rachel looked away shyly as Finn wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss into her hair. The six friends didn't have much time alone because everyone wanted to congratulate Finn and Rachel. Finn stood next to Rachel as she talked with almost every single one of her classmates. He thanked unknown faces and smiled at every one of them, but he could not wait until they could go back to the apartment. Rachel had allowed him to loosen his tie and unbutton the top button of his shirt but he was still tired of standing on a stage listening to the same things over and over again. When the last person left Rachel grabbed her purse to leave. Madame Stewart, Rachel's instructor, asked if she could meet with Rachel the following week to discuss a few things. Rachel agreed and Finn was actually quite relieved that Rachel didn't ask to just meet with her then. They were finally going home.


	30. Chapter 29

_**Okay so there will be one more chapter before I end this story. I am (as of right now) planning on doing a sequel. For all my fans, it will probably be called Wanted but that is still up in the air for right now. Thank you for all your reviews! Keep reviewing and letting me know if you like it. kinda mushy Finchel but I had some people ask for Rachel to tell Finn how she felt so this is for them! Enjoy!**_

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As they walked out of NYADA, they soon found out it was raining. Finn was about to hail a cab when Rachel realized she had an umbrella in her bag. As much as Kurt would kill her for walking around New York in the rain wearing her new heels, she wanted to spend some alone time with just her and Finn. "Finn, we don't need that cab," she called as he was running towards the curb. He heard the pop of an umbrella and turned to see Rachel now standing under a black umbrella with small gold stars everywhere. He smiled and ran towards her before he was completely soaked. She handed him the umbrella so he could stand comfortably beneath it. She was so glad that her dads had bought her a large enough umbrella for two people. She suddenly felt a pain in her heart as she thought about her dads. She had not spoken to either of them since she had gotten so upset at the start of the summer. She looped her arm through Finn's and leaned into his arm, suddenly feeling like she could cry. They walked in silence for a while, just listening to the sound of cars driving through puddles and the rain hitting the buildings.

Finn turned towards the apartment but Rachel stopped him, "Finn, can we not go back yet? I just want to walk around in the rain together before we go back to spend time with our friends." Finn nodded his head and smiled letting her lead the way. She hailed a cab and told the driver to take them to the Bronx Park. Once they got there and had paid their fare, Rachel took out her phone to text Kurt, informing him that they would be back in a while and to not worry about them. After he had texted back, she turned her phone off and placed it back in her bag. Once she had her bag situated on her arm, she took Finn's hand and led him to a bench that had been somewhat protected from the rain thanks to a small pavilion. Finn shook the umbrella out before walking under the pavilion to sit next to his fiancée. She cuddled up next to him as they sat and watched the rain fall.

"Finn?"

"Yeah babe?"

Rachel paused before continuing with what was on her mind, "Did you ever see my dads when you were in Lima?"  
Finn pressed a kiss into her hair and took a deep breath, "Yeah, Hiram came into the shop the other day to get his tire fixed. He didn't say much to me but as he paid, he handed me something and told me to take good care of his baby girl." Finn sat up and took something out of his pocket. "He told me to give this to you as soon as I saw you. I actually forgot about it the first night and then after you asked me to sing with you, I decided I should probably wait till after your performance. Not that it really mattered but I just wasn't exactly sure what they had written and I didn't want it to distract you." He handed her a small package that had her name written in black Sharpie marker.

Rachel looked up into his eyes, as though she was seeking the strength to take the package. He took her left hand and kissed just above her engagement ring, letting his lips linger as he met her eyes again. She slowly began to open the package. Inside were two different letters. One was addressed to just her, the other to her and Finn. She opened the one with her name on it first:

_Our dearest Rachel,_

_We are so sorry for the way we acted. We have longed to talk to you every day and we really have no excuse to not talk to you. I think we were hoping that it was just one of your diva moments and you would be over it soon enough like you always were with us. You never could stay mad at us for very long so we expected this time to be no different. We were completely wrong, however, and we now realize that it is us that need to apologize to you. We should have supported your dreams, all of them, and not just the ones we wanted to support. _

_Finn is a remarkable young man, and we can both see that he makes you happier than you have ever been. We always dreamed for you to find a man who could make you happier than anything, we just never expected you to meet him when you were only 16 years old. We figured your junior year after you got to New York for Nationals you would realize just how close you were to achieving your dream and would finally let your 'Finchel' dream go. Boy, were we so wrong. Rather than giving up your dream of Finn, you just added him to your New York plans, and he loves you enough to follow you and support you in all you do. When Finn came to us and told us his plan of setting you free, we thought this was what you would finally need to realize that high school relationships did not last. We knew you would want to hold on and would fight him completely, but for one, we never imagined that Santana and Kurt would end up in New York and make the process for you to hold on even easier. We'll have to admit we weren't very happy with the idea of Finn going to the army because of how dangerous it is, but we were hoping that while he was gone for basic training and everything you would meet someone else and fall more in love with them to help prove to yourself that you could do better than Finn. We're not proud to admit it, but we want to apologize to you for how we acted and for not being supportive of every one of your dreams. We promise that when you are ready to talk to us again, we will support you in everything you do. We love our big gold star!_

_Love, your fathers_

Rachel wiped away the tears. She could feel all those feelings of anger building up inside her. What right did they have to decide which of her dreams she could live out and which ones she was better to leave behind? She felt Finn's hand on her shoulder and she took a deep breath, her eyes continually staring forward. "Did you read that letter with me?" She turned to look at him.

"No, I didn't because it was addressed to you. Was I supposed to?"

She smiled softly, "I want you to read it but let's read the letter for both of us first and then I'll let you read this one." She took the other envelop out carefully and handed it to Finn to read. "Will you read it out loud?"

He took the letter from her hand and wrapped his free arm around her. She leaned into his shoulder and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she listened to the voice she loved so much read the letter from her dads:

_Rachel and Finn,_

_First of all, Finn, we need to apologize to you for not being supportive of you. We really do see you as a son and we cannot believe that we let our selfishness get in the way of your happiness. We are truly sorry for that._

_We need to tell both of you that we will support you 100% in your decision to get married. Now we don't want you to plan a quick wedding like the last time you tried to get married, we want to have a big wedding for the two of you. We have already talked to Burt and Carol about it and we have started a fund for you at the Lima Bank. We will continue to put money into it every month so that we are able to give you the best wedding we possibly can. Carol said that Kurt would kill all of us if we didn't let him be the wedding planner so that has already been decided if he will agree to it of course. The money that is not used on your wedding will go towards your future together._

_We thought about it a lot after our fight and we realized just how lucky we are. Our daughter did not come to us and tell us she was getting married because she was pregnant, she came to us and told us she was getting married because she loved the boy. It was a personal choice for both of you. We are so happy that the two of you are doing this right and waiting until you are married._

As he read the last line, he couldn't help but laugh, thinking back to their Valentine's Day dinner when they had brought it up. Rachel and Finn had looks of horror on their faces which probably made them think that was something they had never even thought of. _Little do they know… _he continued reading when Rachel nudged him in the arm.

_Finn, we think that you are an amazing young man and you treat our princess as though she truly was a princess. We respect you so much, especially because you were so willing to let her go live her dreams because you wanted what was best for her. We are so thankful that our daughter found a young man who is supportive of her and can handle all her diva moments. We should probably apologize for turning her into such a little diva but we just wanted her to be the best at everything and tried to give her everything she wanted to compensate for her not having a mom. We want to thank you for being who you are. Your mom did a remarkable job raising such a noble young man. We know your father would be so proud of you if he was still alive. _

_Rach we aren't trying to rush you into anything but when you are ready, please call us so we can all talk about this. We love you more than you will ever know. Inside the box are a few things that we think you may need in the near future.  
Love, Hiram and LeRoy Berry_

Finn could not stop smiling. He finally had their permission to marry their daughter. That meant more to him than anything. He turned to Rachel and saw her smile, accompanied by tears in her eyes. He took his thumbs and gently wiped them away, "Hey baby girl, don't cry. Unless those are happy tears than cry all you want because we finally have permission to get married!"

Rachel laughed and a sob accompanied it. She felt Finn wrap his arms around her and pull her close. She cried for the first time since it had all happened. All the anger and hurt she had felt towards her dads was all melting away as her Finn held her. When she finished crying all the tears she could, he didn't try to make her talk, he just continued to hold her until she was ready.

"Finn, I know I tell you this a lot but I am so thankful that you are here in New York with me and that we finally figured out how to get it right and quit pretending that we didn't have those feelings for each other. I can't imagine my life without you. New York and pretty much my whole life would suck without you. You are there for me for everything. Singing that song with you today was so special to me. I love you so much and I cannot wait until we can finally be married. Having the blessing of both sets of parents just makes me even more excited to finally have our wedding and begin our new life together. It won't be easy, but it will be so worth it."

As she finished, she turned so she could look into his eyes. He was staring down at her with so much love and adoration. Just when he thought he couldn't love this girl anymore, she somehow proved him wrong. He would do anything to make her happy and to make her proud to be his. "Why are you just so adorable," he asked as he bent down to kiss her nose. She blushed at the gesture. Even though she hated the size of her nose, she loved when he would kiss her nose. He wrapped his arms around her and she settled back into his chest. They sat in silence, just watching the rain fall.

"Babe," Rachel asked breaking the silence.

"Yes, my love? What's wrong?" asked Finn.

"I was just curious about something. Anytime we are having a cute moment or I say something you like, you always kiss my nose. Why? I mean I don't want you to stop I love the gesture I'm just curious I guess. You never did this when we were dating before."

_Leave it to Rach to be so observant of something as simple as a kiss on the nose, _thought Finn. "Well," he sighed before continuing on, "when we were dating before, you always seemed so confident and sure about your body, Remember when we were doing Rocky Horror and I was completely freaking out about having to do the scene in my underwear and you told me not to worry about it because you thought I was the hottest guy in the school. Well you also said something about how you didn't look like Quinn or Santana but I still thought you were hot. I, personally, think you are much more beautiful than Quinn or Santana but I didn't realize what my dating Q again would do for your self-esteem. When I broke your nose and you thought about getting a nose like Quinn's, it was the first time I had ever seen you not completely comfortable with how you looked.

"When we were trying to figure out a way to convince you not to get a nose job, Puck told me it was my entire fault you were even considering it. Not only had I broken your nose but you were obviously trying to look like a certain someone's girlfriend. Everyone agreed, besides Quinn of course. She thought it was a great idea for you to want to change something you didn't like. I think that she was just happy you wanted her nose, as though it was something she could forever hold against you." He felt Rachel wince as he continued on. He turned her in his arms so he could look into her eyes and read her reaction. "Rachel, when I told you that day in class that you were beautiful, I meant it. I vowed that day to do everything I could to convince you of that. I think subconsciously I knew that we would end up together again. When we got back together, I came up with the idea to kiss your nose. It is more of a way for me to keep that promise to myself. I love your nose, I am so glad that you didn't change it because of me. I love it and I love you. I don't want to ever been the reason you change something about you. I love you just the way you are."

Rachel couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She smiled and laughed and cried as she fell into his arms. As he held her, she whispered close to his ear, "I love you Finn Hudson, more than you will ever know."

Finn chuckled and kissed her right behind her ear and then whispered, "If it is as much as I love you, I might have a slight idea."

"Finn! We have been dating for over a year and are engaged and do you know what we have yet to do?"

Finn thought about it. They had done a lot of things to check off of Rachel's bucket list of things to do when she got a boyfriend which was quite long considering all of the chick flicks her and Kurt would watch. He thought back through some of the things they had done together that had been on the list. There had been the date around New York when they were juniors, having a star named after you, which Finn had not known was on the list until after he had done that; watching the sunset, singing in the park under the stars, and singing love songs to each other. "Rach, I'm drawing up a blank. Can you give me a hint about what you might be talking about?" With that, Rachel took off running for the rain. He didn't know what was going on but figured he should probably follow her. As he got closer, he stopped to watch her as she twirled around in the rain. She had left her shoes at the bench so she could run faster. Her hair was completely soaked and the fabric of her dress clung to her body.

Rachel stopped spinning and noticed him standing there watching her. She ran over to him and leapt into his arms. "You can kiss me if you want to."

He smiled and finally caught on that her request was to be kissed in the rain, "I want to." And with that, he kissed her hoping that he could add another memorable time to her never ending bucket list.


	31. Chapter 30

_**Well here it is friends. The final chapter of my story! Thank you so much for all the support and comments about the story. I never imagined my writing to be this popular. I am planning on starting the sequel which will most likely be called Wanted. Some people have said what they want to happen in this story but I would love to hear what my fans are interested in happening to the characters. Thanks again! -lanajie20**_

* * *

Four months. That is what he promised her. He didn't promise that he would be done with the case completely just that he would come back in four months so they could start planning their wedding. She wanted a spring wedding, late April or early May. Four months would put him getting back around Christmas time which would give them plenty of time to take pictures and get everything finalized before the wedding. As much as she wished he would just forget about changing the discharge status, she understood why it was so important to him. She just hoped that Detective Jones had found out enough information before hand to help Finn out.

Detective Jones had already been a huge help. He had found Finn a place to stay that was right on the base and had gotten permission for Finn to review his father's file. Everyone who had been close to Christopher Hudson was more than willing to help the young man find out as much information as he could. Burt had been talking to some of the officials and trying to find out what he could about getting the status changed.

As she sat on the bed watching Finn pack, she realized that it had been a week since she had received the box from her dads. Inside it had been two new cameras, one for her and one for Finn, so they could take pictures of their adventures away from each other. There was also some money for Rachel to pick out whatever else she may need for her apartment and a new tube of her favorite lip gloss. She had been so caught up in spending as much time as she possibly could with Finn that she had almost forgotten all about calling them to thank them for their gifts. "Umm Finn, do you mind if I call my dads and out them on speaker phone while you pack? I completely forgot they wanted me to call them."

Finn barely looked up from his spot on the floor where he was attempting to get everything back into his suitcase, "Yeah sure babe whatever works for you. You don't have to put them on speaker, you can just tell me what happens after you talk to them. I'll be moving around a lot so it might be kind of distracting for you while you are talking to them."

"If only you knew how distracting you were for me," Rachel mumbled under her breath, or at least what she thought was under her breath. She turned around and saw Finn staring at her, his eyes wide.

"What did you just say? I thought I heard you say something about me being a distraction for you but I am not sure I heard you right." Finn smiled as he watched Rachel's cheeks turn completely red and she looked down. She looked up at him through her long eyelashes, which made his heart melt. She smiled shyly and replied in barely a whisper, "You weren't supposed to hear that."

Finn laughed out loud. He got up off the floor and was sitting next to her on the bed before she hardly knew what was going on. He came up close to her face and smiled his crooked smile. "Well if we are completely honest, you are a huge distraction for me. As you can see I'm supposed to be packing right now and instead I'm sitting by you." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. He went to return back to his packing when he felt her come up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close to his right ear.

"Finn," she whispered. "Will you just lay here on the bed with me for a while? I just want to lay here with you holding me close. I don't want you to leave for Georgia, I just…" She couldn't hold it in any longer. She began sobbing. Finn pulled her down into his arms and leaned back on the bed.

"Shhh, baby, don't cry. It will be okay. I promised you I would only be gone till Christmas. Then I will be back and we can get married." Finn didn't know what to do to make her stop crying. He leaned down to kiss her. She reciprocated with a much rougher kiss than he was accustom to from her. He wasn't about to complain.

* * *

An hour after she had intended to, Rachel finally got around to the task at hand. She pressed send and held her breath as she waited for an answer. She heard the phone click and go straight to the voicemail. She hung up the phone and looked towards Finn as though she was about to cry. "I guess they didn't really want to talk to me," Rachel said completely defeated. Finn tried to think of something to say to make her feel better but he was interrupted by the sound of her cellphone ringing. Rachel looked at him with a very surprised look on her face. The caller id showed the number she had just called. She quickly answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Baby girl we are so sorry for hanging up on you. I am still trying to get used to this darn phone and I hit the wrong button," LeRoy Berry replied frantically.

"Oh no you are find dad! I just was a bit confused. How have you been?" As much as she didn't want to admit it, it was still kind of awkward for her to talk to her fathers.

"Well we are much better now that we can hear your beautiful voice. We have both been very busy with work. There are a lot of new things happening in the company that we are trying to get all worked out. Oh and just so you know you are on speaker phone so that we can both hear you. How was your visit with Finn? Is he still there? If he is, we would love for him to be a part of this conversation also."

Rachel smiled up at Finn, "Well daddy you were on speaker phone to start out with. The past few weeks with Finn here have been great! We did a duet for one of my workshops and everyone thought we did a great job! A lot of people were asking Finn why he didn't apply for NYADA as well. He is actually leaving to come back to Lima tonight. We are working on getting him all packed up. Their flight leaves at 8:30 tonight."

There was an awkward pause and some muffling which meant that they had covered up the speaker of the phone so they could talk about something she had said together. Rachel sighed. _I might as well get this over with, _she thought. "Umm dads, I just want to thank you for your letters and the things that you sent us. I really appreciate it a lot. And I also want to apologize for the way I reacted. I just couldn't believe that you had been lying to me all this time and pretending to support me. From now on, I want you both to always be completely honest with me so we don't ever have this problem again. Do you think you can do that for me?" She looked up and met Finn's eyes. He took her hand and kissed it, silently nodding his approval.

"Rachel," Hiram hesitated, "we accept your apology but it really shouldn't be you who needs to tell us you are sorry. We never should have lied to you about being supportive of your decision. We love you and all that matters is that you are happy. If you are happy, then we are happy."

Rachel couldn't help but let the tears of happiness fall. Everything was finally falling into place just the way she had imagined it.

* * *

"Promise me you won't get any crazy ideas to join the army once you get there?" Rachel was standing outside the apartment saying her good-byes to Finn, Brittney, and Blaine. They group had agreed that it would not only be extremely expensive to take a cab there and back, but they also didn't want to cause a scene when they went to say their good-byes.

Finn chuckled and pulled his fiancée into an even tighter embrace, "I'm pretty sure I couldn't even think about it after knowing what it feels like to 'live' in New York with you. Four months I promise! Speaking of four months I have something for you." He pulled a small black box out of his jacket pocket and placed it in her hand. She looked up at him questioningly before opening the box. She gasped as she saw what it was. She pulled the silver necklace out of the box to admire it. It was in the shape of the state of Georgia and had a small heart in the approximate location of Fort Benning. Finn took it from her hand and placed it around her neck. "I know most of your necklaces are gold but I wanted one that would match your engagement ring. I didn't want to force you to wear your engagement ring all the time so I figured that on the days you couldn't wear it, you could put it on this chain and know that I am thinking about you.

"I promise to call you all the time and text you whenever you aren't busy. It will be a long four months but we are going to make it through because we are destined to be together. I love you Rachel Barbra Berry!"

Rachel felt the chain around her neck and couldn't stop smiling, "This is a much better departure than the last time I found out you were going to Georgia. My heart will definitely be in Georgia for the next four months but hopefully that is all the time that it will be there!" She leaned up to kiss him.

They were interrupted by Kurt clearing his throat, "Goodness you would think by now I would know not to go anywhere you two may be without expecting a make-out session." Rachel leaned into Finn's chest as he held her close.

Blaine came up behind Kurt and put his arm around his shoulder, "You know Kurt, had they walked in your bedroom about 30 seconds ago they would have seen the same thing and I am almost positive the same thing was going on in Santana's bedroom as well. Rachel couldn't help but laugh out loud which made everyone laugh in return.

"Yeah I guess you are right," Kurt replied between laughs. The three couples all walked out to hail a cab, leaving the three travelers just enough time to make it through security.

"Promise?" Rachel looked searchingly into Finn's eyes.

"I promise," Finn replied. He kissed her and as he got into the cab he put his hand over the right side of his chest. "Remember, even though I don't wear a necklace like yours, my heart is staying here with you." He winked as he moved his hand to the left side and mouthed something to Rachel. She smiled and blew him a kiss.

As they watched the cab drive away, Kurt came up next to her. "Why did he touch the right side? Doesn't he know that his heart isn't on that side?" Rachel looked up at Kurt.

"He knows exactly what side it is on. It is just an inside thing between us. You see the first time we went on a date in the auditorium, he was talking about how he could feel my singing in his heart but he touched the wrong side. I corrected him and after that we kissed." She wasn't about to tell Kurt what Finn had mouthed to her. _It's beating really hard_. She felt the same exact way anytime she thought about how far the two of them had come since that day in the McKinley High auditorium.


End file.
